Love Song of the Leaf
by the road I know
Summary: The fourth Shinobi war has ended, Sasuke has come home, and Sakura is sure her love will finally be returned. But when Sasuke leaves her devastated and a new threat leaves her fighting for life, Kakashi is forced to confront feelings he never thought possible while Sakura realizes that fairy tales are found where we least expect them. [KakaSaku, Blank Period, will be upgraded to M]
1. Chapter 1 - Homecoming

Here's that obligatory disclaimer: This is a work of fan-fiction using characters from the Naruto world. I do not claim any ownership over them.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Homecoming**

In every life, only three or four moments will change anything. Kakashi knew this better than anyone, and as the poison coursed through his veins, he remembered those points in his life, those instances when the slightest move or faintest breath would have led to a different world than this one. He hoped he had at last righted it all.

A year had passed since the end of the war. A year since he had watched the reunion of his team and vowed he would never let those three be torn apart again, not if it were in his power to prevent. His own life had been on an unchanging trajectory since he was six years old but he wanted the fates of his young team members to be different. Wanted for them the happy endings shinobi like him never get.

Now, among the scattered bodies of his attackers, his knees hit the hard stone as he reached a shaking hand to the wound in his arm. The blood dripped warm and wet through his fingers and with the last of his strength he formed the signs and spoke the jutsu that would summon his ninken. There was nothing the dogs could do for him, he knew, but he didn't want to die alone.

As the summoning seal took effect and concentric circles of intricate black lettering shot out across the ground from beneath his hand, he finally collapsed and felt the first soft flurries of snow upon his face. All chances to change anything were gone for him, and in his last moments he didn't waste a single one wishing his life wasn't finally at an end or that somehow, something could have been different. He saw only images of the three living people he loved most in the world.

He saw Naruto's laughter during their long journey back home after the war. He saw Sasuke's gratitude after his pardon and freedom. And as Kakashi's eyes closed, he saw the wild green of Sakura's eyes, a tangle of flowers in her hair, and her smile as it was on that last morning, and he tried to hold on to it as his world went black.

* * *

"At least you lost your left arm." Naruto eyed the empty sleeve hanging loose from his own right shoulder. "I'm useless over here."

"Shut up Naruto." Sasuke said with a scowl. "How does only having a right arm instead of a left make hand signs any easier for me? And in case you forgot, I'm left handed."

Sakura looked at Kakashi over the heads of the other two, now apparently useless, ninja, and with a shake of her head, rolled her eyes. From the crease that appeared at the corners of his eyes, she knew his lips had curved into a smile beneath his mask. She grinned.

"Shut up, both of you." Sakura laughed as she turned her attention back to her charge. "And hold still Naruto!" She smacked the side of his head lightly.

"Sakura!" Naruto whined, squeezing his features into a grimace as he looked up at her. "What did you do that for? I'm missing an arm and I could have died out there!"

"And if you had, I would have died too." She leaned down and gave his shoulders a squeeze. "But it's half your fault you're missing an arm." She straightened to stand over him again. "So stop being a knucklehead and let me treat you so we can go home soon."

The green glow of her chakra illumined her palm as it slowly swept over Naruto's right shoulder, searching for damaged nerve endings and torn ligaments, releasing knots and pain centers as she went, and infusing her treatment with her own comforting massage. It was a trick she had only ever reserved for her three teammates.

They'd been holed up in this tiny room of the civilian hospital in the north Fire Country for a week now. Only a week since that last bloody battle ushered in the end of an era, yet it felt like a lifetime.

"If it's anyone's fault," Naruto countered, "it's Sasuke's. He's the reason we only have two arms between us now." He turned toward Sasuke with furrowed brows, and was met with an amused smile from the ordinarily sullen ninja, who sat against a heap of pillows in the bed by the windows. "If you're gonna beat someone up, beat him up."

Sakura laughed. "Don't worry, he's next." She looked over Naruto's golden head toward Sasuke but when her eyes met his, she quickly looked back down with a timid blush, only to meet Naruto's mischievous grin.

His mouth opened to speak, but before he could utter a sound, Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you have something to say?" she asked, her raised eyebrows a challenge. His blue eyes widened innocently and he remained silent but the smirk didn't leave his lips. "Good, now hold still," she said and resumed her treatment.

But even as Naruto's wounds smoothed over with newly healed skin beneath the heat of her chakra, her thoughts strayed to Sasuke, and she couldn't keep the warmth from rising to her cheeks again or the smile from her face.

Naruto and Sasuke had each lost so much, but when she remembered how she had found them after their battle, beaten and broken and Sasuke's cheeks streaked with tears, how he had looked at her then and apologized to her, she thought that what they had gained might somehow justify all the loss. He was back. Sasuke was finally back and she hoped she'd never have to let him go again.

"How does it look?" Naruto asked. Sakura's fingertips glided over the stump of his right arm, her chakra prodding the bone and blood vessels and nerves beneath the skin. "Good enough to leave tomorrow as planned?"

Home—Konohagakure—the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Until Kakashi had told them that afternoon what awaited Sasuke when they returned, her longing to be home again had been intense. She had yearned to walk thought Konoha's massive green gates and feel the hum of the village roads beneath her feet again, to see her family after all the months away, to laugh with her comrades, to finally relax. But now, all she wanted was to delay their homecoming.

"Your arm looks really good. You shouldn't have any painful bundling of nerve cells beneath the skin." The chakra faded from her hand and she sat down on the edge of his bed. "But let me look at that eye."

When she had first seen the injury to his left eye, she was sure there would be permanent damage to the socket, but it had begun to heal as quickly as the rest of his wounds and now he could hold it partially open. It looked good but it was still tender from the repeated chakra treatments of the past days so she merely spread a new bandage across the deep laceration under the eye and sat back to look at her work. "There," she said, "almost back to new."

Raising her eyes to his, she smiled at the expectant hope on his face. She had told them they couldn't leave until they were well enough to make the journey back to Konoha. Now, there really was no reason to delay any longer. "And yes, we can go home tomorrow," she finally said.

Naruto's face was immediately overspread with the familiar grin he'd flashed her so many times over the years. "All four of us finally together again," he exclaimed. After only a moment though, his expression was replaced by one more serious and he leveled the steady gaze of his blue eyes at her.

"What is it?" she asked.

His voice was hushed and earnest. "I told you I'd bring him back. I'm just sorry it took me so long to keep my promise."

"Oh, Naruto, you have nothing at all to apologize for." Her voice trembled as she looked down at her hands and remembered the foolish request she had made of Naruto all those years ago when Sasuke had left the village. "Please bring him home," she had begged through her tears.

She now wrapped his shoulders in a fierce hug and buried her head in his hair. Her throat felt raw and her eyes burned. "I'm so sorry I asked so much of you."

"Hey Sakura," he wrapped his arm around her awkwardly, "it's ok."

She drew back and gave a weak smile and felt the tears begin to brim over. "Aren't you worried at all?" she asked, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Of course not! What is there to be worried about? It's just a stupid formality that Granny Tsunade has to do. But once she sees him and talks to him again, she'll know he's alright."

Sakura shook her head and frowned in doubt. "I don't know. They don't know him like we do. They don't. . ." her voice trailed off. "After everything he's been through. After everything he did for the village in the war, how can they do that to him?"

"Don't worry. He'll be out in no time, believe it. You'll see."

Sakura looked at Naruto's reassuring expression and wondered if he was right. She hoped he was right. For as long as she had known him, he had been so able to believe in happy endings, and she had come to realize that it was his belief in them alone that had made so many of them happen. She wondered how he always managed to do it, and felt an overwhelming rush of emotion again.

How had she been so lucky to be teamed up with him all those years ago? "I don't know what we'd do without you," she said to him with a wobbly smile.

"Aw, Sakura, you're the one we can't live without." He raised the stump of his right arm and wagged it at her. "If it weren't for you, who knows if we'd have made it."

"Well, you do have a point," Sakura laughed and gave him a light shove against his shoulder. "And you'd better not forget it." But then she stood and leaned over him to press a soft kiss to his forehead. "Thank you Naruto."

* * *

Later that night, after Sasuke and Naruto had fallen asleep, Sakura climbed onto the couch in the corner of the hospital room and curled up in the little space left on it that was not being occupied by Kakashi.

"Scooch," she said to him. He was stretched out on his back with his hands interlaced beneath his head at the opposite end of the couch, and she extended her own legs, squeezing them between him and the cushions, and tucked her toes against the underside of his arm. Without opening his eyes, he scooted over an inch to accommodate her.

"How are they doing?" he murmured.

"Good." She glanced across the room at the sleeping forms of Naruto and Sasuke. "I guess we can all get out of here in the morning." She hadn't left the hospital since they'd reached it a week before, but Kakashi had returned to the Land of Lighting to help those left after the final battle, and had since made multiple trips to Konoha. "How are they in Konoha today?"

"Better," Kakashi said. "Even those suffering the worst from chakra-depletion have reached almost complete restoration. But it'll be some time before everyone has recovered from whatever they saw while hooked up to that thing. I can't imagine."

She couldn't imagine it either. Apparently those who had been imprisoned to the ten-tails tree in the last day of the war had experienced hallucinations of their worst fears and greatest desires. And waking from those visions had left many disoriented and distraught.

When Kakashi had found Lady Tsunade on the battlefield in the Land of Lighting, she had been healing the wounded and shouting orders at the rest, and whatever she had seen in her own visions had been put to the side, but Sakura knew she must be suffering.

Sakura's thoughts and eyes then strayed to Sasuke, as they had hundreds of times over the last few days. A square of moonlight fell soft over his face as he slept and all she wanted to do was curl up next to him, lean her head on his chest, and fall asleep with the steady beat of his heart against her ear.

She couldn't hate him. Before the war, she had tried to; he had hurt them all, and she had even convinced herself that she could kill him. But any blame she had once felt was long faded. And now that he was coming home, she might as well be a smitten schoolgirl again, heart thumping and hands trembling every time she got close to him.

But Sakura was sure there was something different now too, a new look in his eyes, and she had begun to believe, despite everything, that things would finally fall into place. That Sasuke would, at long last, let himself love her.

She turned her eyes back to Kakashi, and found him looking at her. "Even after all these years, you still wear your heart on your sleeve," he said.

She blushed. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"Maybe just for those of us who know you."

"You must think I'm an idiot."

"No." His voice was gentle. "You two have been through a lot together. There's nothing to explain."

Sakura smiled weakly.

They lay in silence for a while before Kakashi spoke again. "It has to be done Sakura. But it's going to be fine. He understands."

"No, I know," she said. "I guess. . .I don't know. I guess I thought what he did for us during the war would be enough. That he wouldn't still be viewed as a criminal." Thinking of what Sasuke was going to face when they got home made her angry and sad all over again. She wished she could prevent it. A part of her had for a moment even wished they could run off together and become fugitives.

"The people of the village don't know him like you and Naruto do. That can be changed, but it won't happen overnight. And in the meantime, procedures must be followed. He knows that. The fact that he's accepting the consequences of his actions shows me who he is now. It will show Lady Tsunade too."

Sakura's lips curved in a faint smile. "He's really back."

Kakashi turned back toward the ceiling and closed his eyes. "It would seem so."

Sakura watched the steady rise and fall of Kakashi's chest and thought of how he had always been there for them. He hadn't said much about his own sorrow in the last few days, but she had seen it in his eyes and heard it in his voice. Of all of them, he might have lost the most in the war.

"And how are _you_ doing?" she asked softly.

At her question, he opened his eyes again and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm alright," he said, "but I'll be glad to be back in Konoha for a stretch."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Home will be good for us."

"Besides," he continued in his familiar languid tone. "Any more of this schedule, and Lady Tsunade will start setting unrealistic expectations for me."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but it's probably too late for you." Sakura laughed quietly. "So I hope you enjoyed being lazy while it lasted."

Kakashi chuckled before his expression sobered. "But to tell you the truth, if it weren't for you kids, I think I'd be lost." It was a rare bit of candor from the normally stoic man, and Sakura felt a swell of emotion in her chest.

"Well, we'll always be here for you. We owe you so much." The words weren't enough, but there really weren't words to express how grateful she was for all he'd done for them over the years.

After a moment though, she smiled and nudged his arm with her foot. "But seriously, Kakashi-sensei, you know we're not kids anymore. We're seventeen. That's like the tenth time this week you've called us kids."

The corners of his eyes revealed his own smile. "I've got 14 years on you three. You'll always be kids to me."

* * *

The following morning brought a whirlwind of confusion and minor irritations as they all tried to gather their things and themselves for the journey ahead. But eventually they were finally off and leaping through the forest canopy toward home.

Sakura watched Sasuke sail through the branches in front of her and remembered another time, all those years ago, when she and Naruto and Master Jiraiya had set out after him when he had deserted the village.

She had been jumping through the forest canopy on that day too, and in her desperate heartbreak had imagined him ahead of her, as if he were still with them and they were on just another mission. But now he really was there in front of her, in flesh and bone and heart, and she didn't have to imagine him anymore. If she had the nerve, she could reach out and touch him. She had missed him so much.

As they neared the village, though, Sakura felt the crush of anxiety. All she wanted was to slow down and delay the moment when Sasuke would be taken to the Konoha prison. She wondered if ANBU black ops would be waiting for him at the gates, or if he would have to turn himself in. It all seemed like a twisted joke to her, an unnecessary piece of theater that would help no one.

But despite Sakura's wish for the journey to go on forever, the gates of the village soon appeared in the distance while the sun still burned high in the sky above. They all dropped to the ground to walk the last hundred yards and Naruto drew alongside her, bouncing with enthusiastic energy. "Who do you think will be at the gate today? Do you think they'll have a welcome party for us?"

"I doubt it Naruto. Everyone is still recovering from their own experiences. It was rougher on them than on us."

At her words, his exuberance quelled. "I know it was."

"But everyone will be overjoyed to see you, I know that," she said.

"I guess it doesn't matter," Naruto's eyes were now downcast. "I wasn't able to save everyone. I wasn't able to save Neji, or Inoichi-san, or Shikaku-san."

She wanted to comfort him, to tell him again that they all owed their lives to him, but just as Kakashi had said so many times, she knew that sometimes sympathetic words would only make things worse. In the end, she settled for taking his hand in hers. He turned his face to smile at her as they walked and she returned it and gave his hand a squeeze.

Sasuke was walking a few feet in front of them, and she wondered what he was thinking or feeling. His head and shoulders were erect and to her, he seemed fearless.

They had almost reached the gates when Naruto pulled his hand free from hers to run up to Sasuke. He turned and grinned, and slowed his pace to match Sasuke's, and she couldn't help a melancholy smile as she watched them. Who would have thought two weeks ago that they could be like this?

All too soon though, the massive green splintered wood panels of the Kohona gates towered overhead, and the four shinobi passed beneath them and onto the wide main street, its multi-colored shops and buildings lining the road and drawing the eye toward the Hokage rock at the opposite end and its five carved stone faces that tirelessly watched over Konoha and its people.

* * *

Later, Sakura walked out of the Hokage Tower and wandered in the general direction of the Training Grounds. The last hour had passed by in a blur.

When they had entered the village, Naruto had been almost trampled by Konohamaru and Moegi, who were doing guard duties for the day, and in the noise and laughter, the mood had seemed joyous for a few blissful minutes. But soon Kakashi was whispering something in her ear, and she was turning to see him taking Sasuke's arm, and she knew the moment she had been dreading had come.

They had gone to Lady Tsunade's office, and it had seemed crowded and oppressive. Ibiki-san had been there, his scarred and haggard face unreadable, and two members of his ANBU interrogation squad, faceless and nameless under their animal masks, stood by him. Shizune had also been there, and so had Tenzo, and as happy and relieved as she was to see those two dear friends, she could only spare half of her attention for anyone but Sasuke.

In the end, he had left willingly with Kakashi and Ibiki's team, and her heart had ached for him. His chin was held high, his face resolute and inscrutable as he walked past, and he had not looked at her. For a while after the door closed behind him, her muscles quivered and her heart thumped wildly with nervous energy, and she knew if she stayed much longer she'd scream.

"Sakura!" Naruto had called when she walked out. "Where are you going?"

"I just need some air," she had said.

"Let her go," she heard Lady Tsunade say behind her.

Now, as she walked away from that meeting, she was careless of the scenery around her, and looked only at the ground as she kicked a pebble in front of her along the dusty road. It soon tumbled into the grass, and she continued to walk, past the three stumps where she and the boys had taken their first test with Kakashi years before, and finally toward the village's memorial stone.

The memorial was a tribute to Konoha's fallen soldiers, a slab of polished granite the color of tears, and standing before it, Sakura wondered how they would fit the names of all the shinobi who had given their lives in this last war. She wondered where Neji's name would be carved. The thought brought the sting of tears to her eyes and the names on the stone blurred as her tears flowed.

She didn't know how long she stood there, but her tears had dried and the shadows were falling long over the ground when she felt the presence of someone approaching. She knew who it was, and when he came up beside her, she didn't turn.

He must have just come from arranging everything at the jail, but as badly as she wanted to know how Sasuke was, she waited; waited for Kakashi to say in his head and heart what he needed to say to Obito and Rin and all the others he had lost over the years and whose names would soon be joined by so many more.

"I left him with Ibiki," Kakashi finally said, his voice impassive. Sakura now turned her face toward him, her expression at once questioning yet fearful of the answer. Kakashi stood with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders relaxed as he looked at the stone. "I wouldn't worry. I don't think there's any restraint they can put him in that would keep him there if he wasn't there by choice."

"But is he. . .when will. . " her voice trailed off.

"There'll be a hearing next week. Naruto and I will be there, with Lady Tsunade and the elders, and we'll give our recommendations." He now turned his face toward her and she saw that his dark gray eyes were steady and calm. "I do think our opinions will be given a lot of weight in their decision."

"Next week?" She searched his eyes. "And until then?"

"Until then, Ibiki and his team will be questioning him."

Sakura took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she turned back to face the memorial stone. He'll be fine, she thought. But she imagined Sasuke alone in a cell, bound and isolated, tormented in mind and body, and her own body felt hot with anger and anxiety.

"I wish I could be there with him." She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut but couldn't stop the tears, which began to flow silently down her cheeks. She felt helpless and suddenly very alone. How could she be so strong in so many ways and so weak in others?

And then she felt a light touch, and a squeeze of her shoulders, as Kakashi put his arm around her and pulled her gently to his side. She turned into him and buried her tears against his chest, and in the next moment, both his arms were around her and he held her as she cried. His heartbeat was slow and strong, and it calmed her, and finally her tears stopped. When she relaxed, she felt his hold loosen, but he didn't let go until she drew away and wiped her eyes.

She then turned to stare blankly again at the memorial stone, and they stood there together a long while more, in comfortable silence, until the sky turned the color of moonlight and the stars shone above their heads.

* * *

A/N:

I hope you enjoy so far! Please review-it is food for my writer's soul.


	2. Chapter 2 - Bonds

**Chapter 2**

 **Bonds**

The next morning, they buried Neji and Inoichi and Shikaku, and the other heroes of the Leaf who had given their lives in the war. A mournful October wind blew through the cemetery and Sakura felt its bite as she stood before Neji Hyuga's gravestone. All around her were people crying, but her own grief had finally made her body numb. Her head ached and her throat was raw and she felt as if she had shed a lifetime of tears in the last two days.

Lady Tsunade was speaking, but the words seemed a long way off to Sakura, dim and muffled, as if they had to push through the murky gloom of the thoughts weighing her down as she stared at the carved letters on Neji's gravestone. Neji had been one of them, Sakura thought; one of the Konoha 11, their group of eleven young warriors who had learned and fought and dreamed together for the last four years. He was the only one of them who hadn't come back from the war.

She looked over at Naruto, who was standing behind Hinata Hyuga as she sobbed for her cousin. Naruto's eyes were dry, but Sakura could see the grief and remorse in his face. Neji had used his own body to block Naruto and Hinata from the Ten-Tails attack and had died protecting them. Sakura knew it would be a long while before Naruto truly stopped blaming himself for Neji's death.

As she turned away, Tsunade's words began to stir some of the fog from her clouded brain. ". . . although you have departed this world, we remain connected by the will of fire and we are thankful for your blessings and protections all around us. . ."

Sakura listened to the words, to their tone of gratitude and faith, and let out a long breath. There was so much work that would have to be done, not just in Konoha, but in all the other villages, if they were going to preserve the alliance they had formed during the war. Tsunade would be relying on her, and she couldn't let her down.

Tsunade's speech closed on a note of hope, and silence settled over the cemetery as the mourners began to file past the gravestones with offerings of white chrysanthemums for their departed comrades. Sakura bowed her head, about to turn to follow the others, when she felt a gentle nudge to her right shoulder. She looked up to see Sai, his pale face one of uncertainty.

"Sai," she said, and despite the somber mood, her voice held that note of comfortable pleasure she always felt when she saw one of her teammates. "What is it?"

He glanced around and then bent his head close to her ear. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing right now."

"Oh Sai," Sakura gave him a forbearing smile. "You haven't been to a funeral before?"

"No. I was kept from the Third Hokage's funeral. I found a book on the subject, but it wasn't very clear about how I should act."

"Well, don't worry, just follow me." She got into line with Sai close behind. "You don't have to do much. Just say a prayer or think of something you remember about the people we said goodbye to today, and you can lay flowers on their graves as you go past them."

She gathered an armful of the white blooms as she spoke and her eyes were drawn to Ino and Shikamaru ahead of her in the procession. Her heart ached for them; they had each said goodbye to a father today.

When Sakura and Sai reached Neji's grave, they stopped a little longer than they had at the others. She wondered what Sai was thinking and regretted that he had never gotten to know Neji the way she and Naruto had. But even though Sai had only joined their team after Sasuke left, he had become their ally in all things.

He was really, in effect, the twelfth member of the Konoha 11, she thought. After a few moments, they moved down the line again. At the end, as the mourners fanned out and headed their separate ways, Sakura walked over to Ino and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Hey forehead." Ino gave Sakura a sad smile, and then turned to Sai. "Hey Sai."

"Hi pig," Sakura said. A small laugh escaped Ino's lips and she leaned her head against Sakura's cheek.

"Hello Ino." Sai spoke a bit awkwardly and looked like he wanted to say something more but remained silent.

"I dreamed about my dad every night since the war, except last night." Ino's eyes were watery. "I think he was trying to tell me goodbye."

Sakura didn't know what to say, and only squeezed her friend a bit tighter. For what seemed to her the hundredth time that week, she wished she knew the right words to give comfort.

"I don't think he'd want me to be crying like this." Ino wiped her eyes. "He'd expect me to keep being tough for my mom."

"You've always been one of the toughest people I know," Sakura said. "I'm sure he would understand that you need to cry too."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Ino sighed. "But I've become a crybaby like you, forehead." She gave a smile that was somehow teasing and sad at the same time.

"Ha ha," Sakura said, but smiled too.

Ino gave her eyes a final wipe with the back of her hand. "So what are you doing right now? Do you have to go to work?"

"No," Sakura replied. "Lady Tsunade told me she wants me to rest today and that if she sees me near the hospital, she'll give me reason to need a room there. Talk about a tough lady. She's the one who should be resting."

"Yeah, she said something like that to me too."

"So what are your plans for the day?" Sakura asked. "Will you be staying home?"

"No, I want to do something. Some of the others are going to Yakiniku I think, but I don't feel like it."

Sakura hadn't intended to bring her own plans up until a later time, but as it seemed Ino wanted to take her mind off her own thoughts, she began to think it might not be bad timing after all. "Well, if you feel up to it, I do actually have something I want to show you."

"Yeah?" Ino looked curious. "What is it?"

Sakura looked around and saw that most of their friends were sidelined by Naruto, who seemed to be trying to convince everyone of ramen instead of barbecue. They wouldn't have a better time than now to get out unseen.

"I can't tell you, I have to show you." And with a secretive smile, she tugged her friend gently by the elbow. "But come on, before we're forced to weigh in on that debate over there."

Sakura noticed Sai hesitate, and she was just about to take his arm too when Ino looked up, and gave him a smile, and his decision to join them was made. He fell into step beside them and they headed out toward the cobbled path that led to the village center.

As they passed under the crimson torii gate that marked the entrance to the cemetery, Sakura looked up at the Konoha flags strung between its posts. The gentle flap of their cloth edges was a sound she had always associated with home, a sound that had always reassured her that no matter what happened, the village would always endure.

She briefly closed her eyes and let her breath out in a long deep sigh, hoping the sound of the banners fluttering in the breeze would clear her thoughts. But nothing seemed able to push Sasuke completely out of her head or to shake the quivering uneasiness she had felt since he had been led away.

Ino leaned her head a little forward so she could see past Sakura to Sai. "Do you know where she's taking me?"

"No," he said, "I'm as in the dark as you are."

"You'll see," was all that Sakura would say as she shook her thoughts to the present.

On their walk through the village, Sakura let her eyes rest on all the beloved sights of home that she hadn't taken the time to look at the day before, and despite the weight of the war and all the unknowns of the future, she couldn't help but feel cheered and lightened. There was nowhere in the world like Konoha.

She had seen so much of the surrounding countries, from the coarse, wind-blown, sandcastles of Suna, to the slate grey spires of Iwa, to the cloud-shrouded peaks of Kumo, and each of them, seeming in their own way to be a part of the landscape around them, were beautiful. But none had the color, or vibrancy, or life that thrummed in the very streets of Konoha.

Konoha was saturated and vivid, lush with green growing things, its buildings painted and roofed in azure and ultramarine, deep rust or scarlet or luminous tangerine, its roads glittering with the dusty pink of quartz and mica, its sky the palest sapphire blue, or heather, or pearly winter white, and the sun always seeming to dance sparkling along the waters of the Naka river that curved through the village or to glint fiery and warm off the red granite rock cliffs. Sakura had missed this, the hum of her village through her veins and chakra pathways, the feeling of rightness.

She led Sai and Ino down the main street, its shops just opening for the day, and turned down a narrow side street, and then another. When they finally reached a quaint tea house at the end of a quiet tree-lined lane, Sakura took them around the side of the building and along a narrow stone path between it and the shop next to it.

The sky was a hazy gray from the morning showers, and the damp cypress slats of the walls that rose up on each side of the narrow walk filled the air with the smoky, pine-like, woody scent that Sakura always associated with Konoha in the rain.

As they emerged into the mossy garden at the back of the teahouse, the crisp morning air swirled and ruffled their hair, and Sakura took a deep breath, feeling almost carefree for the first time since she'd been home. She took Ino's hand and began to climb the narrow wooden steps that hugged the back of the shop. The steps rose to a covered veranda along the second floor, its slatted roof the deep jade green of a peacock feather.

"OK, really, where are we going?" Ino's voice was impatient with curiosity.

Sakura laughed. "We're almost there!" With that, they reached the top of the stairs and Sakura led them to a door situated a few steps along the balcony. She pulled a key from her pocket to unlock it and then pushed the door open to reveal a bright airy apartment on the other side.

It wasn't large but it gave the impression of spaciousness. The front door led into a wide hall, with a kitchen alcove to the right and a living room beyond, divided by a long kitchen bar. A door on each side of the living room led into bedrooms, and the whole space was bathed in cool light from the overcast October morning.

"So, what do you think?" Sakura turned and looked at Ino and Sai.

"What do I think of what? Whose place is this?" Ino said as she walked in after Sakura.

"It's mine." Sakura sunk down on the couch in the living room with a smile. She leaned her head back against the cushions and looked upside down at the large windows above her head before sighing loudly in exaggerated contentment.

"What?" Ino asked, her face incredulous. "Are you serious? Since when?"

"It was my aunt's place," Sakura answered and raised her head, excited. "My mom told me last night that if I wanted it, I could rent it. Otherwise, my aunt would try to sell it."

Ino sunk down beside Sakura on the couch and looked around. "This is great."

Sakura watched Sai as he wandered the apartment, peeking into the bedrooms and looking up at the ceilings and walls. He had that awkward uncertain look on his face again and Sakura giggled at him. Finally, he came and sat in a cushioned chair that was positioned snugly in the corner between the bar and the living area, and that faced the low table in the center of the room.

She then turned back to Ino. "I was hoping you'd like it."

Ino looked inquisitive. "Why does it matter if I like it?"

"Because I need a roommate," Sakura said with a smile. "I thought maybe you'd like to be roomies."

"Are you serious?" Ino's words came out in a contained but gleeful squeak.

"I am," Sakura giggled.

"I would like to," Ino said, but then her face clouded again. "But I need to ask my mom. I can't leave her alone right now."

"I know. But it's your home whenever you want."

They sat silent for a few minutes, each with their own thoughts, bright gray-white light spilling over them. Sai had pulled his sketchpad out and was settled comfortably back in the chair with his pen. Sakura was sure he was drawing them, and when he peeked over the top of the pad and met her eyes, she raised an eyebrow at him. He only smiled and resumed sketching. She shook her head and turned to look at Ino.

"It's really close to the hospital too," Sakura then said. "We'll be close to work."

"That would be a nice change."

Another comfortable silence passed, filled only with the scratching of Sai's pen against his paper.

"So, what's going on with Sasuke?" Ino finally asked.

Sakura had known she would get this question eventually and although Lady Tsunade didn't want the details generally known, Sakura knew Ino and Sai were among the few in the village who could be told. Also, if there was anyone besides her own teammates who would understand, she knew it was Ino.

But as she started to speak, the weight that had temporarily lifted settled down on her again. "He came back with us and he's being held in the Konoha jail," she said with a heavy sigh. "But he'll be having a hearing in a week."

"And then what?" Ino's voice held a note of sharpness.

"And then . . . I don't know. But Naruto and Kakashi-sensei will be there to speak for him. And I think he'll be released."

"Released? After a week? After what he did?" Ino's sudden anger surprised Sakura and she looked at her friend with shock. Ino returned the look with blazing eyes.

"What he did? What do you mean, what he did?" Sakura tried to keep her voice level.

Ino's face became a contorted mix of anger and surprise, and a strange bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Well, I know he tried to kill you twice. But I guess that's no big deal to you." She shook her head.

Sakura's temper flared, and her voice rose. "That's in the past. It's not who he is. Without him, you know we wouldn't have won the war."

Ino's voice went low. "Without him, we wouldn't have gone to war. Did you ever think of that?"

"Sasuke had nothing to do with it. You know that Ino. Those plans were set in motion before any of us were even born!"

"That may be, but do you think the Akatsuki would have gotten as strong as they were without Sasuke? Without him, those plans would probably have stayed plans!" She stood up and raked a hand through her blond hair.

"That's nonsense, and you know it Ino!" Sakura stood too and her cheeks flushed red with frustrated anger.

"I don't get you sometimes. How can you forgive him after everything he did to us? After everything he did to you?" She began to walk toward the door.

Sakura followed her. "I can't believe you either. I thought you cared about Sasuke too." She felt betrayed and her pulse thumped wildly.

Ino spun round to look at Sakura. "I did, but I guess I'm not so desperate to keep hanging on to someone who's tried to kill me and all my friends multiple times."

Hot tears sprung to Sakura's eyes but she held them back with sheer angry will. Is this what everyone thought of him? Is this what everyone thought of her for loving him?

Ino reached the door and flung it open before turning toward Sakura again. "You know what I think? I think he should spend the rest of his life in jail." And then she turned and walked out without another word.

Sakura watched her stomp across the porch and down the steps before slamming the door behind her. The moment it closed, the tears came, and she stumbled back to the living room and sunk to the couch in sobs, shocked at how quickly the morning had fallen apart again. Sai had put his sketchbook and pen on the table and he now looked at her, the furrow of his eyebrows showing his concern.

"Do you think I'm crazy too?" Sakura asked through her tears as she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

Sai seemed to contemplate his words before he spoke. "I think you and Sasuke have a bond no one understands, except maybe Naruto." He glanced down at his sketchbook before looking back at her. "Sasuke has caused great agony to so many people, even me. But I also know he's inspired great love in you and Naruto, the two people I'm closest to. That can't mean nothing."

He pulled a small scroll from the pouch strapped to his thigh and pushed his sketchpad away so he could unroll the scroll across the table. A pen rolled out of its center and he picked it up and began to draw long flourishes of ink on the unrolled paper as he talked. "You know I have always wanted to understand the bonds you and Naruto have with Sasuke. That hasn't changed. How can I judge until I try to see what you see?"

Sakura leaned her head on her knees and looked at him with relief through her tears. "Thank you Sai, for trying to understand."

As she spoke, Sai lifted his pen from his drawing, and the image there began to peel from the scroll. She never tired of seeing Sai's animals; now she watched as the paper-thin inked outline lifted itself from the parchment, like the curved skin of an apple being shaved off, and began puffing itself out into the shape of a bird.

"Ohhh," she murmured, and a feeling of childlike wonder came over her as the bird spread its white puffed wings and fluttered over to land on her knee. She couldn't help a smile as it hopped on its tiny ink feet, and when she held her hand out, the bird promptly capered onto her finger and peered at her as it bounced and twittered.

Sakura looked at the bird and then back to Sai. "We spent a week with him in the hospital before coming home you know. He's still Sasuke, but . . . he's different somehow. I know it sounds stupid, but it feels like he's ours again. He's not a criminal Sai." She watched as the bird sprung from her finger, flew a lazy circle around the room, and landed back on the scroll. A touch of Sai's pen and it was once more an ink outline on the paper.

Sai regarded her again. "I hope for everyone's sake that you're right. And if you are, I hope the people here will be able to forgive him."

* * *

The next morning, Sakura woke from a troubled and restless sleep, feeling as if Sai's bird were flying circles in her stomach. She needed to see Sasuke. She didn't know how she had gotten through the day before without any news of him, but there was no way she would get through today's shift at the hospital without seeing with her own eyes that he was alright.

A part of her knew her thoughts were irrational, but she didn't care, and less than a half hour later, she was running up the spiral stairs of the Hokage Tower. At the door of Lady Tsunade's office, she didn't hesitate before knocking hard against it, and the seconds that passed after felt like minutes as she bounced nervously on the balls of her feet and waited for clearance to enter.

She had just raised her knuckles to rap the door again when she heard the Hokage's voice. "Enter," Tsunade said from within.

Sakura threw the door wide and opened her mouth to begin speaking, but her words abruptly faded, unspoken on her lips, when she saw Kakashi standing before Lady Tsunade's desk. He turned to look at her, his arms crossed, and for the first time that morning, Sakura hesitated. She hadn't expected an audience and Kakashi would surely disapprove of her request.

"Sakura." Lady Tsunade's voice sounded resigned, as if she knew what was coming.

"Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said. She then turned briefly toward Kakashi as she stopped beside him at the desk, but barely had the nerve to meet his eyes. He looked tired, she thought, and his unruly silver hair was a bit messier than usual, as if he'd been running his fingers through it. "Kakashi-sensei," she said in greeting. Kakashi only raised an eyebrow at her.

"What brings you here this morning, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, and Sakura turned back toward the Hokage.

She wondered if she should make up some excuse and leave, but she then thought of Sasuke, and pressed forward. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Shishou, but I need to ask you something."

Tsunade only looked at her.

She felt Kakashi's eyes on her and took a deep breath before she finally spoke. "I want to see Sasuke."

"Sasuke is not allowed visitors," Tsunade replied. Her voice was calm, but she enunciated each word slowly and deliberately, and Sakura knew she was annoyed. After more than three years of training under her, Sakura had come to know the Hokage's moods intimately, and knew that annoyance could turn to full-blown anger with little warning.

"But I need to see him," she insisted, her eyes steady. "He's my teammate, and . . ."

"No," Tsunade interrupted. "And if that's all, Sakura, you should be on your way. I believe you're expected at the hospital this morning and, as you can see, I'm in the middle of a meeting."

Sakura realized this answer should not have been unexpected and wished she had planned out what to say in advance. But having started, she couldn't give up now, not when she imagined Sasuke unconscious in some Konoha dungeon. "But he's my teammate and friend! I should be able to see him." She tried to keep her voice steady, but nerves and frustration made it tremble.

The anger Sakura had known could bubble up in the Hokage at any moment suddenly made Tsunade's eyes blaze like twin amber flames, and her voice carried a warning tone as she spoke. "You have no business there and I can't allow it."

Sakura continued, sure her frustration was plain on her face. "But what if he needs medical attention?"

"There's nothing he needs that the ANBU medical squad can't give him."

 _They're the reason he probably needs medical attention!_ Sakura thought, and laid her hands flat on the desk as her voice became agitated with desperation. "That's not enough! You have to let me see him."

She could almost feel the wave of temper that radiated from Tsunade, but she held her ground as the Hokage stood and leaned over the desk, bringing her face close to Sakura's. Sakura knew a violent outburst was imminent, but she didn't care. She was going to get in to see Sasuke one way or another.

She opened her mouth to speak, but her words were abruptly cut off with a squeak as a firm hand wrapped around her upper arm. Spinning, she met Kakashi's eyes, which were stony and unsympathetic. And when he spoke, his voice was as hard as his expression. "We're done here. Come on."

Her eyes narrowed as she stared back, and it felt like an eternity passed before she finally scowled and let him lead her out. When they reached the hall and the door had closed behind them, she yanked her arm away from his grasp as he loosened his grip and faced her.

"Sakura, you can't do this. It has to stop now."

So many conflicting emotions tumbled in her head. Embarrassment, frustration, worry. She now tried to meet Kakashi's hardened gaze with a matching one of her own, but couldn't summon the anger and was sure he could see through it.

"What if he's hurt? You don't understand. . ." she started, but couldn't finish, and instead shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'll take care of him." Kakashi's voice was firm but gentle now and when she opened her eyes, she saw that his expression had softened. "You have to trust me."

Sakura let out a quivering sigh but the roiling nerves in her stomach quieted a bit as he held her gaze. He seemed to be searching her eyes for her assent, so she tried to respond with a resigned smile. "I do trust you," her voice was quiet. "It's just hard for me to think of him suffering in a dungeon while I'm out here doing nothing."

Kakashi chuckled. "There are no dungeons in Konoha."

Her brow furrowed. "You don't have to mock me."

His eyes twinkled. "I'm not mocking you. But you're letting your imagination and worry take over." He looked at her for a few moments, again seeming to wait for some response from her.

"I know." She shook her head and looked down. "I know." A deep sigh escaped her as she glanced at the closed door to the Hokage's office. "Well, get back to your meeting. You can tell Lady Tsunade that I won't burst in again."

He didn't turn away immediately, but continued to look down into her face.

"Really, I'm ok," she insisted. And then, "I do trust you."

"Ok, Sakura."

"Please, just promise me you'll let me know if something changes."

His expression relaxed. "I will."

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei." And she turned and walked away.

* * *

Kakashi watched her disappear down the steps before he turned to enter Tsunade's office again.

He walked in to the sight of the Hokage sitting behind her desk, massaging her temples with her fingertips, her eyes closed. She sighed when she heard him enter. "I see she still has no sense when it comes to that boy."

"She and Naruto have a connection with him. They might each go a little far with it, but it's the only thing that's going to get Sasuke through what's coming."

Tsunade didn't glance up, and continued to rub her temples as she spoke. "Sasuke. What am I going to do with him." It was more a statement than a question.

"You're going to pardon him and give him a chance to reintegrate into the village."

This time, she did look up, eyebrows raised. "I see you think it's a foregone conclusion."

"He deserves the same help the Third Hokage gave me," Kakashi said simply, his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed on hers.

"He's gotten that help. He got much more, in fact, and he squandered it all. I'm not sure he deserves a second chance."

"Sometimes I think a second chance is all anyone needs in this life." He looked at her steadily. "Most people never get them. But it's ours to give, and I don't think we'll regret it."

Tsunade's eyes were hard as she returned his stare. But she soon sighed and let her hands fall to her lap as she leaned back in her chair. "Save it for the hearing," she said. "I didn't call you here to talk about the Sasuke problem."

Kakashi let a loud breath escape his lips and raised his eyes to look over Tsunade's head at the village rooftops through the curved window behind her desk. "No, I didn't think you did." He knew what was coming. He had known it since their first trip back to Konoha from the battlefield, when her weariness had been more evident than it had ever been before. He had hoped it wouldn't happen this soon though.

Tsunade smiled. "Come now, Kakashi, is it really that bad?"

He only raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you really have to ask that?"

She laughed. "What is it you object to?"

He knew his eyes didn't mirror the teasing laughter in hers. "It's not where I'd be most effective. And I don't know why you're surprised. I seem to remember you weren't too excited to take on the role yourself a few years ago."

"Ah, yes. But for some reason, they saw something in me I didn't. And I see that in you." Her expression softened. "And anyone who can handle that team of yours can handle this village."

Kakashi scoffed. "I wouldn't say I've handled them. Naruto and Sasuke are each missing an arm after trying to kill each other, and I just had to drag Sakura out of your office. You must be seeing something I'm not."

"I am," Tsunade said simply as she got up from her chair. "Come on, come over here. Have a seat." She swept from behind the desk and around to him, and gestured toward her chair.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked.

She smirked. "Kakashi, have a seat."

With another sigh, he pulled his hands out of his pockets, walked around to the back of the desk, and turned to face her. In the last week, he'd already made all the arguments and objections he had, and she had overcome every one. There was nothing more to say at this point.

After a scowl from beneath his mask, he sank into the Hokage's chair, and before he could protest, she had plucked up her Hokage hat from the corner of the desk and dropped it on his head as her eyes danced. His own eyes blazed.

She only laughed. "Don't worry, I won't be going anywhere for awhile. The official inauguration is still a long way away." She then became more serious. "But you know we'll both have our hands full with the alliance talks and the formation of the Shinobi Union. I'm grateful for your help during this transition."

Some of his annoyance faded and he finally cracked a reluctant smile. After all, giving her grief and forcing her to deal with his overt reluctance was as much a payment exacted from her for his own amusement as it was a reflection of his feelings. "Let's just get Naruto ready as soon as possible, because I don't plan on being here very long."

With this, Tsunade gave a hearty laugh. "Don't look at me. Our local celebrity has a long way to go yet, but I'm leaving that project to you. I'll have my hands full with the construction of his new arm. You can handle his mental fitness." She laughed again. "Anyway, I've already gone over the paperwork with you." She let her hand fall heavily onto one of the many stacks of papers on her desk. "So this should take care of the successorship."

He looked at the stacks lined up on the desk, each over a foot high, and shook his head. "That's a lot of paper."

"Yes," she replied, now having the decency to look a little ashamed. But then she smiled and he saw pride in her expression. "Anyway, congratulations on becoming the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi."

* * *

Somehow, the following few days passed with no further outbursts from Sakura; at least, none that Kakashi was aware of. He hadn't seen her since the incident in the Hokage's office. And although he hadn't been avoiding her, he was relieved he hadn't had to answer any more questions about Sasuke or find any more ways to convince her that she could not see him or be present at his hearing. He had only promised to tell her if something changed, and nothing had until today.

But besides himself, only the Hokage, the elders, Ibiki, and Naruto knew the hearing had been held today, two days earlier than scheduled. Only they knew what had been decided in that room. And soon, Kakashi thought, as he walked the moonlit path toward the Konoha jail, one more person would know. As for Sakura, he would tell her tomorrow, if Naruto didn't spill the news first.

When Kakashi reached the imposing sandstone facade of the Konoha police station, he stopped and looked up at the red and white Uchiha symbol that adorned the building's highest point. The irony of Sasuke's imprisonment in that building was not lost on him as he contemplated the Uchiha crest. The Second Hokage had given the command of the police force to the Uchiha clan generations ago. And now the last living Uchiha was a prisoner between its walls.

Along with Naruto and Sakura, Kakashi knew he was probably the only person in the world who saw something other than a murderer and a traitor in Sasuke. Along with them, he was probably the only person who also felt personally responsible for Sasuke's fall into darkness.

Sakura and Naruto carried guilt over Sasuke's defection from the village and he knew they blamed themselves and questioned whether they could have done something to prevent it. But Kakashi knew Sasuke had been far along the path to hate by the time he had come into their lives. Kakashi knew it was on himself alone that the blame lay, if any blame was to be assigned; he was the only one of them who could have prevented Sasuke's hate from even beginning.

He walked into the building and nodded at Ibiki, who sat hunched at the front desk. There were no lights on, and the moonlight coming in through the windows cast long shadows against the walls.

"It's time?" His voice was gruff.

"It's time," Kakashi responded.

Ibiki stood slowly, his black leather trench-coat billowing behind him like a cape, and walked into the dark of the station toward the cells.

When they reached the first one, Kakashi saw Sasuke through the bars, his head bowed, sitting on the narrow wooden bench in the dingy and damp green cell, still confined to a full-body straitjacket and bound with chakra-enhanced leather restraints. Over his head was a seal designed to repress the power of his eyes, one a Sharingan and one a Rinnegan, two of the three most powerful visual jutsus in the world.

With all this, though, Kakashi didn't doubt for a moment that if Sasuke had chosen to, he could have escaped his fetters with a thought. But he had allowed himself to be held captive, with no guarantee of freedom, and deprived of any privacy or dignity, while he awaited his fate. And that, perhaps, said more about his redemption than anyone else could have.

The hinges of the heavy iron cell door creaked, and Sasuke's head turned toward the sound, and then followed the footsteps of Kakashi and Ibiki as they approached and came to a halt before him. The visible part of his face was expressionless as he waited.

Kakashi considered his former student. For better or worse, he thought, they would all finally see whether Sasuke's path of darkness had finally come to an end.

* * *

In the end, it wasn't Naruto or Kakashi who told Sakura that Sasuke had been pardoned. Sakura worked at the hospital the following day, as she had for the last three days straight, and did everything she could to bury herself in her work and avoid thinking about Sasuke.

At least the work part wasn't difficult. So many people were suffering from the trauma and loss of the war, especially the children, that Sakura barely had time to grab a snack or even sit down during her shifts.

She and Ino had also declared a tentative truce. Before the war, each of them might have held out for months, refusing to be the first one to make a peace offering. But Sakura didn't have the patience for so many of her old ways. So earlier in the day she had swallowed her pride and asked Ino if she wanted to meet at Yakiniku for dinner that night. Ino had said yes, and smiled, and Sakura knew they'd be friends again.

The moment the clock indicated the end of her shift, she sprinted out the door and toward her apartment. Sakura was looking forward to tonight. It would be her first normal evening since coming back home, and she needed it. After all, the hearing would be tomorrow, she thought, and then who knew when she'd have another normal evening again.

She and Ino had agreed to meet at the restaurant, but Sakura was half expecting Ino to come directly to the apartment so they could walk over together. Sure enough, she had just changed her clothes and was giving her pink hair a last glance in the mirror when she heard a knock. With a smile, Sakura grabbed her bag and bounced away from the mirror toward the door.

She flung it open, and was just about to laugh and say, "Hey Pig," when she realized it wasn't Ino standing on the other side. The greeting faded away on her lips and she held the door to steady herself, as her stomach turned somersaults and her heart became a wild thing in her chest.

He was beautiful, like a reincarnated god in human form, she thought, as the night breeze stirred his hair, lifting the black locks from his forehead and momentarily revealing the purple swirl of his Rinnegan. As he looked at her, one corner of his lips curved in an amused half smile.

"Sakura."


	3. Chapter 3 - Sasuke and Sakura

**A/N:**

This chapter was difficult for me. Sasuke is such a complex character and I do think he's someone who wants to connect to others, even if he doesn't know how to do it. But I just don't like him all that much and I really don't like who Sakura is when she's with him. So I wrote how I think things might have happened to start leading them together (of course, in my story, fate intervenes and sets the universe right, haha. And I assume everyone who's reading this is here because they adore Kakashi as much as I do, so that's not a spoiler. Trust me, this is NOT a SasuSaku story).

Thank you so much for the reviews-I really like hearing what everyone thinks of this so far, and love love love getting feedback. I hope you like this.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **Sasuke and Sakura**

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura's mind reeled and leapt at the sight of him, and in that first moment she struggled to make sense of it. The evening wind gusted around the eaves and her heart thumped against her ribcage. But amid the clamor of her nerves and the keen of the gale, she was transfixed by the man before her, by the unimaginable power tangible even in his stillness. "I thought . . ." Her voice trailed off, breathless.

"I was released yesterday." His voice was deep and calm. "Naruto told me where to find you."

That little ink bird flew like a wild creature around Sakura's insides. Had Sasuke wanted to see her? Had he asked Naruto where she was? And was he ok? He looked ok, she thought. He looked more than ok. A blush rose to her cheeks and she glanced down as a smile tickled the corners of her lips.

"He said you were worried and told me to come by."

"Oh." The stirrings of Sakura's delight were doused. So he had only come by because Naruto told him to, she thought.

That little smile of amusement played at the corners of Sasuke's mouth again. "You shouldn't worry about me, Sakura. I've been in worse places."

The deep timbre of his voice did fluttering things to Sakura's stomach again. She tried to smile back, to think of something casual to say in return, when he spoke again.

"But thank you."

Another blush stole to her cheeks and she wanted to shriek at her emotions. "Do you . . . want to come in?" she finally asked, knowing hope was evident in her face and voice.

He didn't say anything, but then Sakura stepped back, and after a short hesitation, he walked past her and inside. She shut the door and leaned momentarily against it, trying to still her trembling nerves while she stared in wide-eyed disbelief at Sasuke's back.

His hair fell in spiky black locks to the nape of his neck and his dark gray cloak hugged his shoulders. He reached up to unbutton it and turned back toward her as he slipped it off. Sakura quickly straightened and replaced her disbelief with a smile.

"So this is where you live now?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's my aunt's, but she moved to the coast."

Sasuke didn't respond but turned to look around the space.

"Um, do you want some tea, or soda?" she asked. Would her heart ever stop pounding?

"Soda would be good."

She walked away from the door and into the kitchen, but then turned abruptly around again and bumped hard into Sasuke, who had followed her. With a quick step back and an embarrassed laugh, she looked up at his face.

He returned her gaze with a slow, self-assured smile.

"Um, I wanted to ask if you'd like some manju too?" Sakura was sure her face was on fire.

"No, just soda is fine."

"Ok." Sakura opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles. _I can't believe this is happening_ , she mouthed to the mayonnaise and plums and soybean paste.

In the living room, Sasuke draped his cloak over the arm of the couch and sat down at one end. He looked completely at ease as he reached for the bottle of soda she handed to him, and when his fingertips grazed hers, Sakura hoped he couldn't sense that the simple touch had sent a shiver down her arm and into her chest.

As she retreated to the cushy armchair at the other side of the room, she wondered if he was watching her as she walked. The thought immediately made her forget how to use her legs, of course, but when she finally reached the chair and sunk down into it, she was only half relieved when she saw that Sasuke wasn't looking.

Instead, his head was tipped back as he took a drink, and Sakura was struck with how perfect he was. The way he sat, his hair falling back lazily from his face as he held the bottle to his lips, all ease and detachment, like he should be lounging in a gilded throne and not on her aunt's lumpy couch cushions. There was no ignoring it, she realized. She was utterly, thoroughly, mesmerized.

As he took the bottle away from his lips, his eyes seemed to scrutinize her, and that same skewed smile teased the corner of his mouth, as if he were entertained by her discomposure. He didn't seem at all bothered by the silence between them, and Sakura struggled to think of something to say.

"So the hearing was yesterday?" she asked. "Kakashi-sensei told me it was tomorrow."

"The Hokage decided to hold it early. I'm sure she suspected a riot outside the station tomorrow. She seems to think no one will be too happy about my pardon." His expression was unreadable but she could hear contempt in his voice.

"I'm glad you were pardoned," she said softly. "And both Naruto and Kakashi-sensei are too."

"They argued for me. I was told it made the difference. The elders argued to keep me locked up for life." Scorn flitted across his face and his dark eye seemed to become even darker. "Apparently my methods make as little sense to them as Itachi's did." His voice was harsh as he looked away.

It was the first time Sakura had heard him mention his brother since the end of the war but as much as she wanted him to open up, she was afraid to push him. She thought he might go on, but after a long silence, the cloud fell from his face and he looked at her. "So do you know about this two-year plan that Naruto was going on and on about?"

Sakura thought about Naruto's assignment to slave away in a classroom with Iruka-sensei for the next two years so he could be promoted to Jōnin-rank, and grinned. "It was Kakashi-sensei's evil idea. He has to spend the next two years studying shinobi history and theory and then he'll get promoted. He's going to be part of Konohamaru's Genin class."

Sasuke only shook his head in bewilderment.

"You remember Konohamaru, right?" Sakura went on, trying to fill the silence. "He's the Third Hokage's grandson. He and his team used to follow Naruto around everywhere and even started some newspaper about him during the Chūnin exams."

She thought back to those days and the memories brought a sad smile to her face. Less than two months after those first Chūnin exams, she had stood in the moonlight and begged Sasuke not to leave Konoha. Sakura looked down at her hands and wondered if he remembered that she had told him she loved him that night.

"Anyway," she continued, a small sigh escaping her lips. "It was actually Konohamaru and one of his teammates at the gates a week ago. He's excited about the whole thing. Iruka-sensei not so much."

She looked at Sasuke again, and for a moment saw something like regret in his expression. But the emotion was quickly replaced by his typical remoteness. "He'd probably love it if you joined him," she said. "Then you could both make Jōnin together." A smile crossed her face at the thought. Naruto and Sasuke were the only Genin-ranked shinobi who could single-handedly take out an army.

Sasuke leaned his forearm on his knee, holding the bottle lightly by the neck as he watched the soda swirl round inside. "I couldn't care less about that nonsense," he said. "And Naruto shouldn't either."

Sakura's smile faded, and they sat in silence for a while before she spoke again. "Where are you staying now?"

"The Uchiha compound, my old house." He seemed about to say something more, but suddenly there was a hard knock at the door, and in a flood of horrified realization, Sakura remembered Ino and their truce and Yakiniku, and groaned.

With a pained and apologetic glance at Sasuke, she jumped up and sprinted toward the door. When she reached it, she hesitated for a moment but then took a deep breath and opened it. Ino stood on the other side, her hand raised and ready to pound again. Sai stood beside her, and Sakura looked from Ino to him with surprise.

"What's taking so long?" Ino asked in mock indignation. "We finally decided to come get you so we wouldn't starve to death."

"I didn't mean . . . I meant . . ." Sakura stammered out, but then Ino spotted Sasuke, and for one long terrible moment, she was silent. Her expression went from surprise to unease to suspicion and finally settled on outrage. Her voice, though, when she spoke, was bitter with derision.

"Oh, I see now. You were planning to stand me up. And to think I was excited about hanging out tonight. But I see you can't be bothered to keep an appointment when you have a date with the village traitor instead." Ino crossed her arms and glowered at Sakura.

Sakura's expression darkened and when she turned from Ino back to Sasuke, she saw a frown flicker across his face. He picked up his cloak and walked slowly over to them.

Sakura faced Ino again, and in a hardened voice said, "Ino, stop it already. That's not fair. He's been pardoned."

Ino looked at her with anger and something else . . . betrayal? A spear of guilt went through Sakura and in a more contrite tone, she went on. "And I didn't mean to stand you up. But Sasuke . . . the hearing was yesterday, and I didn't know, and . . ."

She looked to Sai but he was occupied with a cool appraisal of Sasuke as he approached. There was nothing now of the shy, socially awkward artist in Sai's attitude. He may have been her teammate and confidante, but under it all, he was ANBU, a honed assassin with countless kills to his credit. Now, he looked almost relaxed, but Sakura had fought beside him enough to be aware of the deadly ease with which he could have a blade at an opponent's throat and a disdainful grin on his face before she could even register a flash of movement. But even Sai couldn't match Sasuke's speed, and Sakura's nerves went taut with apprehension.

But all Sasuke did when he reached them was flash a charming, if slightly wolfish, smile at Ino. "Hello Ino." Sakura saw her friend's expression falter, but before she could say anything, Sasuke glanced at Sai and nodded a greeting. Sai nodded back. "Don't let me keep you from your plans," Sasuke said. "I was just leaving."

"No, you don't have to go," Sakura said. Since they were all together, and Ino hadn't stormed out, surely they could salvage the evening. "Since we're all here now, why don't we talk? We can order dinner."

Ino looked at Sakura as if she had grown a second head, and Sakura would have laughed if she weren't so agitated. "I don't think that would be a good idea," Ino said.

"Well then why don't _you_ leave?" Sakura responded, haughty and annoyed, while she tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her she was being insensitive and unfair to Ino, who of course had more of a claim than Sasuke did on her time tonight.

" _Me_ leave?" Ino exclaimed. "Why would I leave? We have plans, remember?" She raised an eyebrow at Sakura and swept past Sasuke into the living room. Sai stood his ground. Sakura only sighed and turned back to Sasuke.

"No, I'll be going." Sasuke looked at her with an almost gentle expression. "I'll see you around Sakura." And then he was gone.

For a few moments more, she stared into the emptiness of the dark garden and the starry sky beyond. Finally, though, she forced herself to close the door and turn back to the bright lamp-lit apartment. Sai had joined Ino on the couch, his attention now buried in his sketchbook.

"Well that was a pretty scene, Ino," Sakura said, her hands on her hips as she stared angrily at her friend.

Ino looked up at her sweetly. "I thought so too." Sakura glared at her for a long time without speaking and Ino stared back, her look a challenge. "Someone has to keep you out of trouble. If I don't do it, who will?"

"He was pardoned Ino. The Hokage and the elders obviously think he deserves a second chance." She paused, and her voice took on a plaintive edge. "I don't expect you to forgive him. But he's my teammate and I . . ."

She faltered. _I love him_ , she thought. It was as simple and complicated as that. "I've forgiven him. And maybe it's impossible, but I hope we can all be comrades again someday." Sakura's eyes burned but she blinked the tears back.

Ino only stared at her. But the fight seemed to go out of her, and she sighed. "Sakura, I don't know how to forgive him, but I guess I'll try for you. But as for him being friends with all of us again?" With a scoff, she picked up a magazine that was laying on the table and began to flip through it.

Sakura let out a breath of relief. "Thank you." It might not sound like much but she knew what Ino had said was a big deal. After a few moments of silence, Sakura began again tentatively. "Do you want to go get dinner?"

"No, I really don't feel up to it now," Ino responded, but there was no edge to her voice. "Do you want to order something instead?"

"I actually don't feel like eating." Sakura's stomach was in knots. "But you can order something. I think I'll go lay down for a while."

She went to her room and closed the door before falling backwards onto her bed. Soon, Ino and Sai were forgotten as she stared at the patterns in the ceiling and proceeded to relive in her mind every moment that had passed with Sasuke.

* * *

Sakura couldn't remember falling asleep but when she opened her eyes, it was morning and sunlight streamed through her bedroom windows. Her first thought was of Sasuke. She thought of his face the night before when he had said he was staying at his childhood home, and she wished Ino hadn't arrived at that moment.

Ino, Sakura thought. She also wished she hadn't fallen asleep before Ino and Sai had left last night. And what had Sai been doing with Ino anyway? They must have run into each other at Yakiniku. Oh well, so much for being roommates, Sakura thought. After last night, she'd be surprised if Ino even wanted to be friends with her again.

But she'd worry about that later. For now, she wanted to see Sasuke. And she wanted to talk to Naruto and Kakashi. With her fists. Both of them would get a beating today, if she had her choice.

She'd stop to see Naruto at the academy first, and then she'd bring Sasuke lunch. He shouldn't be alone with only the ghosts of his slaughtered clan and the memories of his brother for company. Her stomach flipped at the thought of seeing him again, and she turned her face into her pillow and smiled. As for Kakashi, she'd find him later and make him regret keeping her in the dark.

With this, Sakura dashed into her little bathroom to shower and dress, and then walked toward her bedroom door. But the sight that greeted her when she stepped into the living room stopped her in her tracks.

Apparently Ino had not left last night after all. There she was, stretched out on the couch on her side, her long hair splayed out like a blond wave and her feet propped up on Sai's lap. Yes, Sai, who was sleeping upright, his head lolled back against the cushion, one hand dangling off the end of the couch and one hand resting on Ino's ankle.

"Well isn't this interesting," Sakura said under her breath, a grin spreading across her face.

* * *

Kakashi knew he would slam into the tree before he felt the bone-jarring impact of the trunk against his back and shoulder. But he could do nothing to change his trajectory and as the left side of his body took the brunt of the blow, he heard the crunch and crack of bone, and a sharp searing pain hissed through his shoulder.

But Naruto was coming at him, fist extended. With a gasping breath, he planted his feet and launched from the tree with an explosive burst of chakra, spraying splintered shards of bark behind him like shrapnel.

Before Naruto could react, Kakashi grabbed his former student's arm and swung him round with the force of a vortex before releasing him to careen into the same tree with a satisfying crash of splitting wood. Grasping him again, Kakashi then slammed him to the leaf-strewn forest floor.

Kakashi could no longer command the same speed he'd had before he lost his Sharingan, but when Naruto tried to spring up, Kakashi hurled his arm across the boy's chest and smashed him to the dirt once again, a kunai at his throat before he hit the ground.

Crouched over Naruto, Kakashi's chest heaved. And based on the relentless pain in his shoulder and neck, he had further aggravated whatever he had just done to them.

"I give," Naruto finally said in a rasping laugh. Mud and sweat streaked his face and the golden locks that normally spiked out in every direction were matted to his forehead.

Kakashi grinned beneath his mask and sat back into a squat, his forearms resting on his knees as he caught his breath. He reached his unhurt arm out towards the boy, but Naruto waved it off. "I think I'll lay here for a while," he said. "This is so much better than that stuffy classroom."

"I'll give you five minutes." Kakashi chuckled. About to sink cross-legged to the ground himself, he heard the rustle of leaves and snap of twigs to his left and looked over to see Sakura walking toward them.

"Well this is a welcome surprise," she declared. "If you're going to beat each other up, I don't have to take the trouble."

Naruto raised himself on his elbow and looked at her with a rumpled grin. "Sakura-chan!"

"Yo," Kakashi raised his hand in a short wave and then winced. He wasn't unhappy to see her, but one look at her and he could tell she was upset. He had expected it; he hadn't had the chance to tell her about Sasuke yesterday and he assumed he was now about to pay the price for it.

But at his wince, Sakura's face went from angry to merely cross. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

A dry smile curved Kakashi's lips at the thought that she'd heal him just so she could break every bone in his body herself. "Nothing I can't sleep off," he said as he stood, waving her away before she could get closer.

She looked at him suspiciously but didn't press the issue. She then turned to Naruto, who was hauling himself to his feet. Kakashi could see in her face that it was a struggle to control her indignation.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, did Sasuke go see you like I told him to?" Naruto asked as he swiped at his pants and shirt in an attempt to dust himself off.

"Yeah, he did, but I'm glad you asked." Her voice was dangerously calm. "Can one of you tell me why I wasn't told two days ago that the hearing was going to be held early?" With crossed arms, she looked from Kakashi to Naruto.

"Oh, uh. . ." Naruto ran his hand though his damp hair and looked at her with a guilty expression. With renewed ire flaring in her eyes, Sakura brought her left hand to the wrist of her right glove, and began to pull it tighter, extending her fingers into the leather tips.

Kakashi knew that tick of hers. She always did it before she meant to wreak destruction on someone. "I made that decision," he said. She turned to him in surprise, and he felt a twinge of guilt and distress at the hurt he saw in her eyes.

And suddenly he wondered, why hadn't he told her? She had proven herself capable and strong time and again in the last year and yet he still treated her as if she were someone who needed protection from harsh truths.

The explanation faltered on his lips and he realized how inadequate it was. "I didn't know how he would be affected by the hearing or the time in jail, and I wanted to spare you. I should have trusted you."

Her arms fell to her sides but she didn't look away, and her expression was full with disappointment. "After everything . . ." She looked at Naruto and then back at Kakashi. "Both of you need to realize you don't have to protect my feelings all the time anymore. Haven't I saved your asses enough times to prove that?"

"But see, that's the thing." Naruto turned from Kakashi to Sakura. "We all protect each other, you know."

Kakashi knew she was right, though. He would have been dead ten times over if it hadn't been for her, and yet he still tried to cushion her in ways he no longer did for Naruto. But she was just as mentally tough as he was, tougher in fact, and he knew she was more than capable of handling what came her way.

"I _know_ we do." She shook her head in frustration. "But I'm not that heartsick twelve-year-old who was always dead weight. And it would be nice to not be seen that way anymore."

"I _don't_ see you that way, Sakura," Kakashi's voice was earnest. She was only a couple feet away from him, and he could see specks of hazel and brown in her green eyes as he held her gaze. "And I'm sorry I've acted like I do." He supposed he would never stop doing everything he could to protect them all from actual harm, but he would certainly try from now on not to shield her from heartache.

She stared back at him until finally her expression softened, and after a few more seconds, she sighed. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry too, Sakura-chan," Naruto said.

"Just . . . try not to do it again." She glanced at the kunai dangling from Kakashi's finger and then to Naruto. "So I thought you were supposed to be studying. What are you doing sparring?"

With this, Naruto groaned. "I can only tolerate those books for so long." He then gave Kakashi a teasing grin. "And besides, now that Kakashi-sensei is going to be Hokage and sit behind a desk all day, I have to keep his skills up."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the boy. "I'm not going to be behind that desk for a while yet, so don't use me as an excuse to ditch your studies." He reached down to put the kunai back in the pouch strapped to his thigh, and that simple movement sent an agony through his shoulder so sudden that he couldn't keep a hiss of pain from escaping his lips.

Sakura turned to him sharply. "You _are_ hurt," she said, and closed the distance between them. "Where?"

"My shoulder," he finally admitted, resigned. This time he let her take his arm and lift it slowly, and the grinding sound of bone made him cringe. She then prodded gently along his clavicle, and he watched her eyes follow the work of her hands, a tingling of chakra everywhere her fingertips touched him.

"Damn, did I do that? I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said.

"It's my fault." Kakashi turned his head toward Naruto. "I underestimated a one-armed opponent. Rookie mistake." He then looked back to Sakura and spoke lower. "Seems I'm doing a lot of underestimating these days."

She glanced up and, after a moment of hesitation, smiled. "It's ok Kakashi-sensei. But don't think I'll be so forgiving if you do it again."

He smiled too. "So what's the diagnosis?"

"It's your collarbone. It's broken. So you have a choice. You can let me treat you at the hospital with good painkillers, or at my apartment with not-so-good painkillers."

There was no way he was going to the hospital. "I'll take the not-so-good painkillers."

"Of course you will," she rolled her eyes. "Well, come on then."

The three of them began to walk back toward the academy, and Naruto gave Sakura a playful punch on her shoulder. "So? Sasuke went to visit you? And?" His face was all mischief.

"I just forgave you, and you're looking to get beaten again?"

"No!" Naruto put his hand up in surrender but his grin barely faded. "But if my best friends are going to get together, I want to know."

"We're not together. We're friends." Her cheeks flushed as she spoke. "Anyway, he said the elders didn't want to pardon him."

"There was nothing they could do once Kakashi-sensei and I gave our opinion." Naruto scoffed.

Sakura turned from Naruto to Kakashi. "Is there anything I should know?"

Kakashi could see the worry in her face. "The Council is old and cautious," he answered. "Don't worry about what they wanted. They're the same ones who wanted to keep Naruto hidden during the war."

He saw her relax. "He's been pardoned and now it's up to you two to make sure he doesn't . . . lose his way again." Kakashi thought back to the grief of his own childhood, of all the years he said goodbye to an empty house. "You two should go over there when you can."

"I was planning to go today," Sakura said, looking embarrassed.

"I'll go with you," Naruto added.

"Not so fast. You're not missing more class," Kakashi interrupted. And when he saw Naruto about to protest, he cut him off, "No more exceptions."

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei, do I really need this? There's no rule that says I need to study like this. I know you can make me a Jōnin now."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I can, but I won't." He knew he appeared grim and immovable but he wore a smile of amusement beneath his mask.

Naruto groaned as he turned to Sakura, and Kakashi fell behind. The sunlight filtering through the forest canopy dappled and danced along the path, and he took a deep breath of the late morning air.

The training grounds nearest the academy had always been one of Kakashi's favorite parts of Konoha. Heavily forested and hugging the outer wall closest to the Hokage monument, he could look up anytime during a sparring match here and get fleeting glimpses of the massive granite faces peering back through the leaves.

They left Naruto in the academy courtyard, despite his renewed protestations, and continued the short way toward Sakura's apartment. The growing discomfort in Kakashi's neck and shoulder made him glad he hadn't been able to hide the injury from her, and when they finally walked through her door, he went directly to the couch and sank down with a groan. "Remind me the next time I decide it's a good idea to take Naruto on, that it's not."

Sakura laughed from somewhere in the kitchen. The sound of dishes clanging and water running came from the same direction, and Kakashi leaned back against the cushions and closed his eyes. When the noise stopped a few minutes later, he opened them to see Sakura walking toward him with a steaming mug in her hands.

"You went too easy on him and he took advantage of it," she said, and handed him the mug as he sat up. Glancing in, he saw it was filled with a transparent green liquid.

"Maybe so, but in a real fight, I wouldn't have stood a chance." He lifted the mug to his nose and sniffed. It didn't smell appetizing. "What is this?"

"It's a pain-potion Shizune taught me. It uses herbs and plants that can be found pretty much everywhere so it's great for battlefield surgeries when we don't have access to the good stuff. It doesn't have to be hot, but it tastes better when it is."

Kakashi glanced from the mug to Sakura skeptically. "Does it work?"

"Not well. It just takes the edge off." She did not look sympathetic. "You chose the not-so-good painkillers, remember? Now drink up. Your fingertips will start to feel numb. I'll be right back."

He raised the mug to his lips, grimacing at the knife-edged pain in his shoulder when he pulled his mask down to drink. "This is terrible," he croaked. But he managed to gulp it all down, and shortly after he had put his mask back in place, Sakura returned with a pink scarf in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. He eyed both suspiciously. "What are those for?"

"Scarf is a sling for your arm," she eyed it as she held it up. "And these," looking at the scissors, "are for your shirt."

Kakashi wasn't sure which was more offensive. His eyes must have settled on the scarf because Sakura smiled abashedly. "I do need to stock this place with supplies, I know. But you need a sling now, and it's either pink or flowered. I figured you'd prefer the pink."

"Alright," Kakashi conceded, figuring he could switch it out for the real thing later. "But why the scissors?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "What did my shirt ever do to you?"

She rolled her eyes. "I wanted to save you some pain but I don't need to cut your shirt, if it means that much to you. You just need to take it off so I can examine your collarbone. It's too bunchy and I can't do everything with chakra."

He handed her the empty mug, and even that small action sent a sharp spasm through his shoulder, but he was not going to let her cut his shirt off. It hadn't seen the last of its fighting days yet.

Meeting her eyes defiantly, and despite the grinding of bone he heard when he lifted his arms, he pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. Beneath it, he wore a tight sleeveless masked undershirt.

She laughed. "Well that was easy. You know, this procedure really does call for you to remove your mask too. As your doctor, I have to keep everything I see confidential so I promise I won't tell the boys." Her tone was teasing, and Kakashi smiled.

"That was the weakest attempt you've made in a while to get this mask off," he said. "I'm surprised you didn't just peek when I was drinking that horrendous potion."

"Those days of trickery are behind me. There's no fun in that." There was a twinkle in her green eyes.

"That's too bad, because I think trickery will be the only way you'll succeed." He gave her an answering smirk beneath his mask.

"If you say so." She shrugged. "Now let me take a look at this shoulder." She stepped between his knees and her eyes took on the familiar clinical gaze that he knew well.

He watched her as she tried to locate the exact point of the break with her fingers, biting her lower lip in concentration. There was nothing hidden about her, he thought. Every thought and feeling played out on her face for anyone who took the time to look.

His eyes dropped to her throat, where a delicate pink cherry blossom pendant rested on a thin silver chain. "I've never seen you wear a necklace," he commented as he studied the tiny enamel petals. One of them was a darker pink than the others.

"Mhmm," she murmured, and absently reached her hand to the necklace for a moment. "It was my dad's. I used to beg him for it when I was a kid and it became a kind of joke between us. Before I left for the war, he told me he'd give it to me when I got back. He never doubted that I'd come home."

Kakashi saw that her face mirrored the combination of sadness and relief he felt these days too. The war had been over for two weeks, and even though he'd never shake the memories, in some ways it seemed like a lifetime ago.

He thought about the battles he had fought with Sakura by his side and was again sorry he had made her feel like he didn't trust her strength. She was the best medic and one of the most powerful shinobi he had ever met and he'd put his life in her hands again and again without a second thought.

"Here it is," she murmured. At the same time, Kakashi grimaced as her fingers halted along the point where his collarbone had fractured. Her eyes briefly met his. "Are you ready?"

He nodded, and closed his eyes as her cool chakra seeped into his body. But the pleasantness lasted only a second before the chakra reached his bone and began the painful procedure of straining and stitching it together. She had not lied, he realized, with a sharp intake of breath; that appalling liquid barely took the edge off.

The pain was intense and he curled his fingers into fists where they rested on his thighs. But she was fast, and after only a few excruciating minutes, the severe, crushing pressure in his bone gave way to only the soothing tingle of chakra along his neck and shoulder.

He let out a raspy breath and opened his eyes as Sakura felt delicately along the bone again, and he saw her smile with satisfaction. She then gently lifted his arm toward her and bent it at the elbow so that his hand was pointing toward the ceiling. "Make a fist and push down on my hand with your elbow." He did, and felt no pain. "How does that feel?"

"Good." He flexed his arm and gave a tentative roll to his shoulder. "Really good." No matter how many times he saw her healing power in action, it still amazed him. She amazed him. He was about to thank her when he heard the front door open, and a voice call out, "Anyone home?"

"In here!" Sakura responded over her shoulder, without moving away from Kakashi. She took his arm in her hands again, and began to move it around, testing his range of motion, he assumed. "That's Ino," she said in a low voice. "It was decided this morning. We're going to be roommates."

The sound of bags and jars and boxes being put into cabinets came from the kitchen and then Ino's voice called out, "Hey Sakura, I just stopped by to drop off some things, but I'll be back tonight."

The source of the noise then appeared at Sakura's shoulder and in a startled and apologetic voice, suddenly greeted him. "Oh, hello Hokage-sama. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." The formal title made him grimace.

Kakashi lifted his free hand in greeting. "Hello, Ino. But please don't be so formal. The inauguration isn't for a while yet."

But almost before he could finish, she continued with a look of confusion. "Are you injured? What happened to your arm?"

"Naruto happened," Kakashi replied. "But it's back to normal now, thanks to Sakura."

Ino turned to Sakura with a quizzical smile. "I have to run, but I'll see you later tonight." And after a formal goodbye to Kakashi that made him sigh, she was out the door.

Soon after Ino was gone, Sakura released Kakashi's arm and stepped back, a pleased expression on her face. "The set looks good, but keep it as still as possible, ok?" With deft hands, she fitted the pink scarf around his neck and arm and fashioned it into a makeshift sling. "You can't put too much stress on it for a few weeks."

"Thank you Sakura." He bent to grab his shirt from the floor and slung it over his shoulder. "Now go see Sasuke. He might not know he needs it, but he does."

Sakura blushed. "Ok, sensei."

As Kakashi jogged down the stairs outside a minute later, Sakura's citrusy lavender scent seemed to follow him, and he realized that the pink sling wrapped around his shoulders smelled just like her.

* * *

When Sakura arrived at the open gates to the Uchiha compound, her heart thundered in her ears and her nerves were on edge. She had launched herself in the path of countless attacks during the war with less concern than she now felt at the thought of showing up at Sasuke's door. But after a shaky breath, she raised her head and walked on.

The main road was deserted, silent but for the gentle rustling of leaves and occasional birdsong, but seemed peaceful in the afternoon sun. Although Sakura didn't remember much about the Uchiha neighborhood, so much of it had been spared the destruction that had devastated Konoha almost a year ago and she had thought she'd recognize the turn to Sasuke's property. After multiple dead ends and unfamiliar houses, though, she felt hopelessly discouraged.

After once more retracing her steps back to the main road, she looked around. The day was warmer than any of the week before, and the sun glinted from rust-colored roofs. This time, she took a narrow path she hadn't tried yet, and was relieved when she began to recognize the pale gray wall that rose up on her right and the long veranda that ran alongside the home to her left.

One of the screens into the house was open, and after slipping her shoes off, Sakura stepped onto the bamboo veranda and padded toward the open doorway. "Sasuke?" Her voice was hesitant and nervous as she crossed slowly into the room.

"Sakura?"

She spun at the sound of his voice, and his name fell again from her lips breathlessly when she saw him. He stood at the end of the room, shirtless, a paintbrush held carelessly in his hand.

She couldn't help but stare. Every muscle was honed and lean and perfect, each line of his stomach hard and defined, the power in his body unmistakable. Her eyes strayed over him and her heart thumped harder. She finally pulled her eyes up to his and blushed. He was staring back at her, unabashed, the corners of his lips twitching toward a smirk.

"I brought you lunch," she managed to get out, holding the picnic basket up for him to see.

Sasuke dropped the paintbrush in the can at his feet and picked up his crumpled shirt from the floor. He used it to wipe the sweat from his face before pulling it over his head and walking toward her, both eyes—purple and black—locked on hers.

"I knew you probably didn't have much here, and thought you wouldn't mind some company," she felt suddenly unsure as he approached her.

Not quite smiling, he searched her eyes with an expression she couldn't read. "Thank you Sakura," he said finally and turned his face toward the garden. She let her breath out, as if his look alone had kept her from breathing.

"If you like, we can sit outside and eat." She studied his profile and then followed his gaze to the faded red and white Uchiha crest that hung on the wall opposite. It was splintered and cracked, as if it had been struck in its center by a bolt of lightning. Turning back to him, she thought she saw fatigue and resentment in his face, but when he met her eyes again, his features were expressionless.

"We can do that."

Not the best encouragement, she thought, as she walked past him and kneeled on the veranda to begin laying out their lunch, but she'd take it. After a few minutes, he followed and sat across from her, and as she asked about the painting and his plans for repairing the house, his distraction began to fade.

"I'm sorry about Ino last night," Sakura then said.

"Why? She's not the only one who thinks my actions deserve prison for life, or worse."

Sakura frowned. "She'll come around. They'll all come around."

"Why should they? They're right."

"No they're not." Sakura was surprised. "Look at what you did during the war."

His face hardened. "Have you forgotten what I did after it?" His mouth twisted in derision. "And what I did leading up to it? I tried to kill you and everyone you care about Sakura."

His stare was unyielding and cold, and she felt a twinge of shame at what he must think was such naiveté in her. But then her annoyance and defiance flared to the surface.

"No, I haven't forgotten." Her face went hot and she set her bowl of rice down harder than she intended. "In fact, I wanted to kill you myself for what you did to us."

She returned his stare, wishing she could make it as scornful and hard as his. "But I believe you're better than the worst things you've ever done and I've never given up on you, so I'm not about to start now." She finished, her eyes flashing and her cheeks flushed.

For a moment, Sasuke just stared back at her, but then the harshness in his expression cracked, and his face softened as he let out a low, slow chuckle. "You and Naruto and Kakashi are all fools," he said, but the rancor was gone as he shook his head.

Sakura felt a bit rattled. "Maybe so, but you'll just have to deal with it." She spoke softly, and the corners of her lips quirked in a fragile smile.

"I really do have a lot farther to go if I want to atone for my sins," he then said, and the faint smile on his face was the same one she had seen when he had apologized to her at the Valley of the End, almost vulnerable.

"What will you do?" Sakura asked, tentative.

"I don't know," he said as he reached for some pickled cucumbers. "But I'd probably be more useful outside the village. I think the Hokage agrees because she intends to send me on a mission soon."

"A mission? Where to?" Sakura's stomach fell. How could he go away again when he just got home?

"Samurai country. Reports have been received of incidents with the Land of Silence. Apparently an unknown poison is being used in attacks on shinobi trying to enter the Land of Iron. I'm sure there's no shortage of people who want to capitalize on the chaos going on after the war."

"We can go as a team then. Me and you and Naruto. And Sai, if he can get away from ANBU duty." As she spoke, her face lightened at the thought.

"No, you and Naruto have nothing to do with what I need to do."

Sakura flushed.

He continued. "I know you understand. I need to start to repay Konoha. And to repay the Land of Iron for what happened at the Kage Summit the last time I was there."

Sakura nodded, but looked away. "Will you bring your other team?"

"My other team?" He asked. And after a few moments, "do you mean Jūgo and Suigetsu?"

She turned back to him. "Yeah. And Karin."

"I suppose they do have a lot to atone for as well, but no." And when he met her eyes, his own gained an intensity that hadn't been there a minute before. "Sakura, I need to go alone."

"When will you go?" She finally asked, tearing her eyes away, and picking at her food.

"Not for at least a month. The Hokage is waiting for more reports." He reached for a piece of omusubi and she watched the way his tousled black hair half covered his Rinnegan eye. A month, she thought. So much could happen in a month. Maybe a month from now, he would want to bring her with him on the mission. "So, are you ever going to ask me all those questions you have about the Rinnegan?"

"What?" Sakura asked, new embarrassment rising to her cheeks.

"You can't stop looking at it. You should just ask." His lips curved into that smirk he'd worn when she first walked in.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sakura said airily.

"I'm sure they can't be any weirder than Naruto's."

She finally gave up and smiled. She had seen the Rinnegan in action during the war, and witnessed the otherworldly abilities and power it had given him, but its more nuanced aspects and capabilities were a mystery to her. With only the Sharingan, his visual abilities had already been off the charts. But with the Rinnegan? For all she knew, he could see a person's thoughts with that thing. "Ok, fine . . . can you read minds with it?"

Sasuke chuckled again, and its warmth sent a tingle through her. "No," he said. "But I can now see all the chakra points and pathways."

"Oh. Can it be deactivated, like the Sharingan?"

"If it can, I haven't mastered it yet. But it's one of the things I've been wondering about. I've been meaning to ask you if you'd study it, actually."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. "Really?" And with the prospect of medical study, her mind flooded with ideas. But she had just opened her mouth to speak when Naruto appeared at the end of the path and jogged toward them.

"Oh wow, lunch!" he said. "I'm starving." He sank down, and proceeded to gobble the rest of the food as he complained about his studies. When he had finished, he looked over his shoulder at the half-painted room. "The painting's coming along slow, huh?"

Sasuke only raised his eyebrows.

"Well, come on then." Naruto stood with a laugh and walked into the room and over to the paint cans.

Sakura smiled and stood too. "That does sound like fun. It'll get done a lot quicker with our help."

After a moment, Sasuke sighed and reluctantly followed with her. At the instant they began to cross into the room though, a loud wet splat sounded from beside Sakura, and with a gasp, she saw a splash of beige paint dripping down the side of Sasuke's cheek.

"Naruto! What is wrong with you?!" Sakura's face flushed with indignation and bubbling anger at the sight of Naruto almost doubled over with laughter and holding an incriminating paint brush.

Sasuke only glowered as he approached the drop-cloth by the wall and reached for a towel to wipe his face.

Naruto straightened, giggling, and suddenly seemed to become aware of Sakura's growing rage. "Sakura, don't be mad! I was just having some fun." And with that, he dipped his brush into the can and turned away to smear a wide streak of tan across the wall.

But after only a moment, she heard another fit of giggles from him. "Damn, I thought for sure with that Rinnegan of yours that you would be faster than _that_ ," Naruto snickered toward the wall as he swept his brush across it.

She watched him for a second, wondering what a painful and fitting punishment would be, when suddenly a glob of paint splattered against the back of his blond head and began dribbling down his neck.

Sakura spun to see Sasuke leaning casually against the wall with a sly smirk, the handle of a dripping paintbrush dangling from his finger like a kunai. "I am," he said. "But if I had ducked, it would have hit Sakura. Of course, I was _sure_ with that Kyuubi inside of you that you'd also be fast enough to avoid a little paint. I guess not." With another smirk, he pushed off the wall and bent to dip his brush back in the can.

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at him.

Naruto was grinning. "Just letting you feel you could even the score," he answered.

With a happy smile, Sakura grabbed one of the cans and brushes and retreated to the other end of the room. And somehow, they actually finished the room that evening, even though more than half the time was spent flinging paint at each other and laughing like kids.

* * *

That night, Sakura came home to an apartment in disarray. Boxes littered the floors and music blared from Ino's room. Smiling, she crossed the living room to Ino's door, where she found her friend sitting cross-legged on the bed and staring at the mess around her. She looked up when Sakura appeared in the doorway.

"Sakura! I'm glad you're here." Ino's face was excited as she lowered the volume on the stereo. "I'm drowning in boxes and need your help."

Sakura grinned. "Fine, but you're making dinner for a week." She made her way across the room, and picked a spot between three piles of clothes. Lowering herself to the floor, she folded her legs beneath her and pulled a shirt from the nearest pile.

"Deal," Ino replied, and then a devilish smile crossed her face. "Sooo, Sakura, you've been holding out on me."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Um, what am I talking about? Really? I'm talking about Kakashi-sensei."

"What about him?" Sakura asked.

"Are you serious? You never told me how hot he is."

" _What_?" Sakura almost choked.

"Don't act all innocent. I walk in to him practically shirtless this afternoon, and you basically in his lap."

"I was setting his broken collarbone, Ino!" Sakura laughed incredulously. "You are nuts."

Ino laughed then too. "I know it was innocent. I just don't know why."

"Ino, you need your head checked," Sakura replied. "He's my teacher! And he's like an older brother to me!"

"He hasn't been your teacher for years. And as for a brother? Well, if that's how you feel about a man that hot, something's wrong with you. Have you never noticed his abs? And those muscles in his arms?"

"Ok," Sakura teased, folding another shirt. "If you think he's so gorgeous, why don't you give it a shot? He's single as far as I know." Her eyes took on a gleam now.

"I would," Ino said, suddenly picking at a loose string on her skirt. "But you know I have so many things on my mind now, what with working at the hospital, and my mom, and the flower shop."

"Yeah, I know how it is to have so much to do." Sakura folded a few more shirts before she continued, her voice innocent. "I wonder how you find time for Sai with all those things on your mind."

Ino's head snapped up to meet Sakura's mischievous smirk. "I don't know what you mean," she said with a flip of her long hair.

"No?" Sakura just smiled and kept folding. "Well, that's too bad. I guess I'll tell Sai you aren't interested when he asks again."

After a long silence, Ino spoke. "He asked about me?"

Sakura giggled. "He probably didn't think he was obvious, but I know him too well by now not to see through his fact-gathering tactics."

Ino fell backwards on her bed and sighed. "He has the most beautiful eyes, Sakura. Haven't you noticed?"

"No, I never have." Sakura grinned.

"Well, he does."

And just like they had when they'd first met over ten years before, they laughed together into the night.

* * *

The following weeks passed more quickly than Sakura would have believed possible, and well before she was ready, Sasuke's mission to the Land of Iron was only a couple days away. Almost everyone in their group had tentatively come around to Sasuke's support in the last month, and Sakura wished he wasn't going so soon.

She and Naruto had visited Sasuke daily, doing their best to repair and rebuild more than just the Uchiha compound, and she liked to believe she saw gratitude and maybe even happiness in him in rare moments. He was still contemplative and withdrawn and it was still difficult to draw him into conversation, but his formerly constant look of indifferent annoyance had become more scarce and he rarely protested at any of their suggestions anymore.

Sakura knew it was for her and Naruto that he was here tonight; she doubted whether Sasuke would ever willingly come to a party, and she felt a bit guilty now at the sight of his discomfort. As long as she had known him, he had never been someone who knew how to hang out with friends and have a good time. There was just too much trauma in his life.

She looked at him now, standing against the wall in the front hallway, somber and absorbed in his own thoughts. Her apartment was a fusion of music and mingled speech, Ino's high voice audible even among the crowd. As she crossed the room toward him, she heard Naruto's joyful laughter and Hinata's soft giggle, but she ignored them. Sasuke seemed to notice her only at the moment she reached him, and an almost imperceptible look of surprise passed across his face.

"Want to get out of here?" she asked.

He didn't immediately respond, but then he gave the slightest nod and pushed away from the wall. Sakura grabbed their cloaks from the closet and led the way to the door and out into the frosty November night. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself as Sasuke pulled the door shut behind him, and the pool of warm light that had followed them onto the porch was drowned in starry silence.

"You looked miserable in there." She glanced over her shoulder at him as they walked down the steps and into the dark garden.

"I was fine. It was only slightly worse than prison." He said it with his usual expressionless delivery, and Sakura smiled.

"Was that a joke?" They reached the back garden wall, and Sakura stopped to turn toward him.

He leaned against the wall and looked down at her, his lips the beginning of a smile.

"So what do I get for breaking you out of prison?" She asked.

"What do I have that I could possibly give you?" His voice was low and the dim light of the distant streetlamps cast a glow around his shadowed form. _You_ , she wanted to say. _You're all I want_.

"You could take me with you on your mission," she answered instead, hoping her voice sounded light and flirty.

He didn't say anything at first, but he didn't turn away. The pull of his presence was intense, and she had an almost irresistible urge to close the distance between them.

The thought was so ridiculous that she almost laughed when she wondered what he would do if she tried to kiss him. Push her away in disgust? Laugh at her? Call her annoying? Despite how much she had seen him in the last month, she still felt as blind to his feelings now as she had a month ago.

At best, his demeanor toward her had become one of friendly tolerance; at worst, he still seemed as annoyed by her as he had when they were children. In the last few weeks, she would sometimes turn to catch him looking at her, but even then she could find no admiration or attraction in his eyes. In those moments, he seemed to be examining her, as if she were some specimen he couldn't figure out.

"You know I can't take you with me," he finally said, his voice still low.

"I know." She sighed. His mission would take him among people who still hated him and who would rightfully be wary of him. It made more sense that he should go with a team that was trusted in the Land of Iron, a team that could ease the transition and make the work bearable. But both she and Naruto had brought it up too many times for her to revive the argument again.

She could see the glint in his eye and the reserved set of his mouth, and wondered what he was thinking. Was he even thinking about her? If she had learned anything new about him since the war, it was that his mind could be years away even when he was looking straight at her.

"I don't think I'll ever understand why you've done so much for me." His voice was soft and his expression was searching, and she was struck with the impression that he was looking for answers in himself as much as in her.

 _Because I love you_ , she thought. But maybe that's what he meant. Maybe he didn't understand why she still loved him, after everything that had happened and how broken everything had become.

 _Let me in_ , she thought. _Let me in and you'd understand._ So many times in the past few weeks it had seemed like he was on the verge of emotion, of opening up, but he had always stopped himself, always closed himself off again.

"I don't think I'll ever understand why you don't think you deserve it." Her voice was almost a whisper as she gazed up at him.

"Sakura . . ." She heard the mixture of resistance and bewilderment that was always in his voice when she said something like that to him, but in the way he said her name she heard for the first time a need to understand.

Her heart began to thump, sensing all of a sudden that something was different in the space between them. And despite the chill night air and the damp cold of the garden wall against her shoulder, she suddenly felt hot and flushed.

His eyes had not left hers, and as much as she didn't understand this new charge between them, she didn't want it to stop. For the first time, he hadn't closed himself off at her words, hadn't let a shadow fall over him at the first glimmering of some deeper intimacy. She didn't know what he wanted or needed and she wondered if he even knew. It was new territory for both of them.

Without knowing it, Sakura took the smallest of steps toward him, her eyes and face turned expectantly upward toward his, and maybe it was the magic of the starry sky, or the knowing that in two days he would be a thousand miles away, or simply the inevitable relenting of a heart that had been wanted for so long, but in the same moment, Sasuke bent his head slowly toward hers, closed his eyes, and met her lips in a soft lingering kiss.

* * *

 **A/N** : I still don't know what music Ino was listening to-I'll let you know when I figure it out. Ugh, Sakura and Sasuke. So that's Chapter 3. I hope to have Chapter 4 up soon. I can't wait to get to more Kakashi.

Plz review-it feeds my soul!


	4. Chapter 4 - Departure

**Chapter 4**

 **Departure**

Ino watched Sakura and Sasuke leave, and hoped the disapproval and worry didn't show on her face. She had promised to try to forgive Sasuke, and had done her best, but she couldn't trust him. Not yet, at least.

And she wished Sakura wouldn't make her feelings for him so obvious. On more than one occasion, Ino had warned her friend to keep her distance, to wait and see if Sasuke had truly changed before she threw herself at him, but those conversations always ended in fights. The most recent one had been the worst yet.

"I don't know why you're so worried, Ino," Sakura had said. "Why should I hide how I feel? He shouldn't have to wonder if I care about him."

It had taken every bit of Ino's control and friendship to hide her eyeroll at that. "Well, I think that ship has sailed, Sakura. The whole village knows how you feel. I mean, you're following him around like a lost puppy all over again."

"Like a lost puppy?" Sakura's voice had raised a full octave in angry derision. "Don't be jealous, Ino, just because he chose me."

"Jealous?" Ino didn't try to stifle her scornful laugh that time. "What's there to be jealous about? Even if he did want me now, I wouldn't have him. And besides, if he _has_ chosen you, it's only because he can't get away from you. Seriously, if I was throwing myself at someone half as much as you're doing, I wouldn't still be wondering if he liked me."

It had only gotten uglier after that. Ino hated that she had let herself say such low, hurtful things, but there was just something about Sakura that got under her skin sometimes. It was that old childhood rivalry that hadn't entirely been put to rest yet. And it wasn't like Sakura didn't match her punch for punch. In an enraged blur of pink hair, she had slammed the door so hard after that fight that Tenzo had to come to the apartment the next day to fix it with his wood-style jutsu.

But despite it all, if Sakura was determined to risk getting her heart broken into a hundred thousand pieces, Ino knew she'd be there to help put them back together when it happened.

And, if she was being honest, she supposed a part of her understood Sakura's feelings. After all, she had loved Sasuke too. She too had shed her fair share of tears over him, and had made a fool of herself more than once, and she still cringed at the memory of how she'd broken down in front of all her friends earlier in the year when they'd learned he had been labeled an international criminal to kill on sight.

But now, in Ino's opinion, there was no way to tip the pros and cons chart in his favor. What in Sakura's mind could possibly offset him knocking her out and leaving her unconscious on a bench, trying to kill her, trying to kill Naruto, ordering her to kill his teammate before trying to kill her again, trying to kill the five Kage, imprisoning the tailed beasts, knocking her out again, mentally crushing her heart, and again trying to kill Naruto?

And that's a conservative list, Ino thought. She'd have to leave everything else off if Sasuke was going to have a fighting chance at measuring up on the pros column. As for the pros column. . . she'd give him a point for not actually killing Sakura, Naruto, the five Kage, or the tailed beasts. And a point for his looks. Ok, two points for his looks. But that still left a very lopsided tally. She was glad he was leaving in two days.

A cheer erupted near her, and Ino's attention was pulled back to the shogi game currently being waged between Temari and Choji in one corner of the living room. Choji groaned and Temari seemed ready to pounce. "Your king is in check," Temari taunted. "You'd better make a move to protect it."

Ino grinned. Apparently Temari was a much better student than she or Choji had been over the years. Shikamaru had tried countless times during their missions to turn the two of them into worthy opponents, but it had proved to be a hopeless cause, and he'd finally written them off in favor of playing only with Asuma-sensei.

"Your teammate's getting slaughtered," Kankuro laughed from the stool beside her. He took a drink of his beer as he lounged indifferently against the kitchen bar, his elbow resting on the counter behind him. "I'm glad it's not me for a change."

"Oh, me and Choji were shogi victims for years, so you'll get no sympathy from me." Ino teased. "Choji probably thought your sister would be an easy target. But I guess she's a better student than he and I ever were."

"Shikamaru probably just takes more time teaching her," he said with a smirk.

"Or maybe Temari just pays more attention to him than we ever cared to," Ino responded innocently.

She had noticed a bit of suspicious intensity between Shikamaru and Temari too, but she wasn't about to let Kankuro suggest it was more on Shikamaru's side. Kankuro only gave her a rogueish smile and took another drink.

Even here, his face was patterned with the fierce purple war paint he always wore, and Ino wondered what he looked like under it all. Sakura had once seen him without it and had told her he was pretty cute, but it was hard to see it now, when he appeared ready for battle. He probably also had one of his attack puppets stashed and dripping poison somewhere in her kitchen.

Suddenly another cheer arose. "Tsumi!" Temari exclaimed, snapping her piece down in triumph. "Checkmate!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Choji groaned, his plump cheeks flushed. "No need to crow over me. Shikamaru doesn't gloat when he wins."

Temari flipped her sandy blonde bangs and flashed a predatory grin in response as she started setting the pieces back in play.

"Where is Shikamaru anyway?" Ino said, glancing at Kankuro. "I thought I saw him come down with you."

"He just came to get beer before going back again," Kankuro answered. "He's still on the roof with my brother and Kakashi-sama."

"Still?"

"Work never stops for the people in charge. But I'm sure we can find something to occupy us without them." He winked and gave her a lazy smile as he lifted his beer bottle in a toast and then took another swig.

With a raised eyebrow and a half-annoyed, half-amused smile, Ino lifted her soda in return before glancing around the room. She figured it wasn't the worst thing in the world to be the current target of flirtation for the Kazekage's brother, but really? She wished it were Sai sitting there smiling at her instead.

At the thought, her attention gravitated toward Sai and as their eyes met, she took another sip of her soda in an attempt to hide an actual genuine smile. He was sitting across the room, on the arm of the couch next to Naruto and Hinata, and Ino had just begun a debate with herself on whether to join them when Naruto jumped into her line of sight.

"Ino! " He leapt up and bounded over to her. "Come dance with me!" He grabbed her hand, and she barely had time to set her soda down behind her before he pulled her off the bar stool.

"Naruto!" she laughed as he tugged her toward the relatively empty center of the room. "Let go of me."

"I've been trying to get people to dance and Hinata won't unless other people do and Kurenai-sensei only laughed at me. But I know you love to, so come get the dancing started with me."

"Do you even know how to dance?"

At this, he spun her around, and with a squeal she was laughing again.

He was a surprisingly good dancer, Ino soon realized. Even with only one arm, his movement and laughter and shining blue eyes seemed at one with the music, and Ino matched every turn as the beat worked its way into her until her heart thumped in time with it too.

When he tugged her hand to spin her around him again, she saw Rock Lee pulling Tenten to the impromptu dance floor behind them. Leaning in close to Naruto's ear so that he could hear her over the music, she said, "It's working, look behind you."

He looked and whooped an encouragement. "Go Bushy Brows!"

"This is what youth is all about!" Rock Lee exclaimed in response with a blinding grin and an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Naruto answered with a gleeful laugh and Ino giggled, but Tenten rolled her eyes and yanked her partner back to face her. It was good to see those two enjoying themselves. They had been Neji's teammates and Ino was sure they had lost some essential part of their souls when they had lost him.

"Isn't this great?" Naruto asked. "Hinata has to dance now!"

"You shouldn't try to get her to dance if she doesn't want to, Naruto."

"I just want her to have fun, you know. I wish Sai would dance with her—he's just sitting around doing nothing."

"I don't think he wants to dance either. He's not exactly the dancing type."

"Yeah, he and Hinata are weird about that stuff, aren't they?" Naruto's face brightened as if he'd just come up with a brilliant idea. "Hey, maybe we should fix them up together."

"What? Naruto, you are _so_ clueless." Ino hit him on the shoulder. Poor Hinata, she thought. Hinata had been in love with Naruto since they were all kids but somehow, Naruto still didn't see it. Subtlety was definitely lost on him. Although, Ino thought, Hinata jumping between him and certain death more than once wasn't exactly subtle. So even the obvious was sometimes lost on Naruto, apparently.

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "They seem so much alike. Don't you think they'd make a good couple?"

Ino frowned. "No, I _don't_ think they're anything alike. And since when are you a matchmaker?" But inwardly, she wondered. _Was_ Hinata the type of girl Sai would like? Hinata was sensitive and quiet and sophisticated, and beautiful too, with that thick blue-black hair. And she was the heiress of one of the oldest and most powerful shinobi clans in the world. Of course, why _wouldn't_ she be?

Then there was Ino. Bold and energetic and assertive, and with a temper that could flare at anyone who disagreed with her. _Well, whatever_ , Ino thought, and flipped her hair defiantly in time with the music. If Sai preferred Hinata over her, then he was an idiot.

Her face must have revealed some of her inner conversation because Naruto frowned. "Hey, I just thought they'd be good together, you know. No need to get all upset about it."

Ino rolled her eyes and tried to laugh it off. "I couldn't care less, Naruto. But you _are_ clueless. Really, I sometimes think it would take the moon crashing to the earth to knock sense into you guys."

The song drew to its end and before Naruto could respond, Ino headed over to the couch and sank down in the spot between Sai and Hinata.

Naruto followed close behind and was soon pulling Hinata to her feet as the next song blared from the speakers. "Come on, let's dance," he said, with that infections raspy laugh of his. Flushing, Hinata protested, but this time let him drag her out to the floor.

Ino pretended to watch them with interest, hyper aware of Sai's closeness on the arm of the couch. She tried to make her expressions look normal but she suddenly realized she had no idea what the proper expression was for someone who was obsessively watching her friends dance.

This is crazy, she thought. Why was she nervous around him? She supposed it was because she liked him more every day and yet still had no idea how he felt about her. And that was _clearly_ his fault. One day she'd be sure he felt something for her and the next he'd avoid her.

But then, Ino reminded herself for the hundredth time, he was ANBU and had been trained from a child to have no emotions. It was probably hard for him to break out of his shell. Of _course_ , she thought, it was just like her to fall for the one person who was even more unlikely than Sasuke to return her affection.

That was really where any comparison between them ended though. Sasuke was haughty and self-important, seemingly bored with everyone and annoyed at having to be around them. Sai was somehow, despite his job and his past, still boyish and sweet and always intrigued by the world around him.

Well, Ino was not some kind of wilting bluebell willing to wait around and blush and hope he noticed her. She was a purple lilac—wild and carefree. _She_ would just have to be the one to sweep him off _his_ feet. Her dad hadn't called her a bush clover for nothing. But she would not throw herself at him like she had done with Sasuke years ago. She would not be Sakura. So she needed a plan.

"Naruto's a good dancer," Sai suddenly said from beside her. His voice knocked her out of her plan-making and into the music and voice-filled room with a jolt.

"Oh, yeah, he is. It's crazy—I never would have guessed." Ino rambled, and turned to him with a laugh. Gods, he was so cute. Why had she ever thought he looked like Sasuke?

"You're a good dancer too," he said.

Her cheeks warmed and she tried to flash her most dazzling and inviting smile. "Thank you."

He smiled back at her, and she wondered if he was going to ask her to dance-hoped he would-but he only remained silent. Well, nothing said she couldn't ask _him._ And what better time than the present to start Operation Sweep Sai Off His Feet? Ino's courage took a figurative deep breath. "Would you like to dance?" she asked.

His eyes widened slightly at her question. "I'm not sure I'd be any good at it," he said, his voice tentative.

"It's easy," she assured, her smile warming. "I'll teach you."

"I don't think it's as easy as you say," he said, and she was sure she saw a tiny blush on his cheeks. "But I can learn, if you want to."

Ino felt giddy. "Yeah, I would like that."

Sai stood and held out his hand to her, and all her self-command fled as a blush rose to her face. But she had just reached her own hand toward his, when Temari's voice suddenly broke through the spell. "Hey Ino, want to play a game of shogi?"

Ino turned to her, annoyed. "Are you kidding? Not a chance."

Temari looked disappointed. "I can't believe no one here is brave enough to challenge me."

As if on cue, the front door swung open and a gust of cool night air followed Gaara and Shikamaru into the room. Catching her words, Shikamaru let out an exaggerated sigh, but Ino could see a smirk forming on his face. "Have you scared off all challengers?" he asked. "What a drag, but I guess I can show you how it's done."

With her hands on her hips, Temari lifted her chin and returned his look with a scornful glance. He only took a seat at one end of the board, as if he hadn't noticed, and gestured to the empty chair on the opposite side.

Meanwhile, Gaara drew up alongside his brother, and a moment later, Naruto had left the dance floor to join them, with Hinata trailing behind. Ino looked up at Sai and shrugged, resigned. "I suppose we should go over there too."

"Of course." But he still held his hand toward hers, and with another betraying blush, she gave her own. He held it for just the moment it took her to stand, and in that moment the noise of the room seemed to fall away and all her consciousness flew to the feel of her fingers in his. But then he let go and followed as she walked across the room toward Gaara.

A few months ago, it would have been unheard of to be at the same party with former teachers and village leaders, but the war had been a great equalizer. Now, although many of those in the room were mentors or superior officers, they were all elite Jōnin and she saw them as fellow warriors more than anything. It was hard not to after sharing a battlefield, and bleeding and crying and fighting back to back for each other's lives the way they had done.

"Welcome back to the party, Lord Kazekage," Ino greeted when they reached the kitchen bar. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"No, thank you." Gaara responded.

"It's about time you got back." Naruto said. "You guys were up there for over an hour. After all the meetings this week, I'm surprised you had anything left to talk about. Did Kakashi-sensei go home?"

"No, he said he'll be down in a few minutes. And after all the meetings, the quiet discussion was welcome. I'm still surprised you didn't join us." Gaara crossed his arms, and his voice held his usual tone of calm power, but the beginnings of a smile played at the corners of his lips.

Naruto laughed. "Are you kidding me? After all the meetings this week, I wouldn't be able to stand one more. You're not also stuck in school again like I am, you know."

"That _is_ true," Gaara conceded to his old friend. "How are your classes?"

Ino groaned inwardly. She didn't think she could stand one more time of listening to Naruto complain about school.

"Miserable and pointless," Naruto bemoaned as he reached over the counter for a drink. "Now I know why I never paid attention the first time around."

Ino was sure Gaara was now really on the verge of cracking a smile, but it never quite broke the surface.

"Did you know the Land of Waves has caves full of helium? And that its national animal is a shachi?" Naruto asked, straightening to lean against the wall. "That's a half tiger, half fish. Have you ever seen one? I never have. I've seen a condor, and an onbaa, and way too many other crazy animals, but not a shachi. I don't think it exists. And did you know that the national dessert in the Land of Earth is eel-flavored ice cream? Yech. But so far, I haven't read one book that gives any information on Konoha clan history. That would have been some useful information to find growing up."

"What's an onbaa?" Gaara asked.

"You don't want to know, believe me," Naruto answered.

"When will you be finished?"

"A year and eleven months."

"Ah." Gaara appeared at a loss for words and Ino could only laugh.

* * *

Away from the music and laughter, the cool November breeze curled around the starlit garden and stirred the sweet scents of winter daffodils and peonies through the air. Sakura had imagined this moment, this first kiss with Sasuke, for as long as she could remember, and now that it was here, now that his lips were against hers, it was so different from what she had dreamed.

In her dreams, there had been magic, and fireworks, and spine tingling, his hand tangled in her hair or tugging her against him with hungry need. But his kiss was light, and hesitant, and before her heart had barely begun its nervous fluttering at his touch, he was pulling back.

She reached up into the kiss, standing on her toes and trying to hold on to the taste of his lips a moment longer. "Sasuke." Her cheeks were hot and her voice was a whisper. She yearned to put her arms around him and pull him close to her.

When he finally drew away, his eyes seemed to search hers, and the faintest flush bloomed on his cheeks.

She met his gaze with a timid smile and her voice was breathless as she spoke. "What was that for?"

"For rescuing me."

Sakura's eyes widened and her heart thumped. "Rescuing you?"

"From the party, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." She gave an embarrassed laugh.

Sasuke smiled, but to Sakura, his face was troubled.

"Is everything ok?" She suddenly felt cold, and hugged her cloak around herself as she shivered.

"It is. Don't worry, Sakura." He raised his hand as if he were about to brush a stray lock of her hair away from her forehead, but dropped it again without touching her. "But I should go. I still have a lot to do before I leave."

"I can come help you. You don't have to do it alone."

He looked at her for a long moment before speaking. "You should stay here. Please don't worry about me."

Sakura tried to hide her disappointment. "Will I see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes. I'll be around." He lingered, looking at her, and Sakura wondered if he would kiss her again, wondered if he wanted to, but after another moment, he turned and walked out of the garden.

She watched him go and then leaned her back against the damp garden wall. She wanted to squeal and hop up and down and cry and disappear all at the same time. Were they something more now? Was he finally hers after all these years? Or had he felt nothing when he kissed her? Had it been disappointing for him?

With a soul-deep sigh, she realized she felt more confused than ever. But the garden had no answers and as the cold seeped further into her bones, she pulled her cloak around her even tighter and headed toward the stairs.

The steps were bathed in darkness when she reached them, but she heard the voices of Gaara and Shikamaru coming down from the roof at the opposite end of the veranda above her and soon saw a pool of light spill from the apartment door as they opened it and went inside.

The music and laughter from the party had also tumbled out of the open door, and Sakura knew she couldn't face all that yet. There was no way she could make meaningless conversation with Naruto and she certainly wasn't equal to the look she knew she'd get from Ino. For a moment she debated climbing in through her bedroom window, but quickly vetoed that idea too. Right now, she just wanted silence.

So, seeing as the Kazekage and Shikamaru had just come down from the roof, that seemed like her best chance at solitude. She hadn't seen Kakashi come down with them, but if he was still up there, she'd be as happy to sit with him for a few minutes as she would to be alone.

* * *

After Gaara and Shikamaru left, Kakashi reclined into the folding chair and stared out over the dark garden and the pitched rooftops beyond. The Kage from the four other great nations had been in town, along with a representative from the Land of Iron, and a week of talks on the formation of the new allied Shinobi Union had finally come to an end that morning.

But even as the nations were forging an agreement of peace, new threats were sprouting up everywhere they looked. The incidents and disappearances along the border between the Land of Iron and the Land of Silence had become more frequent. And the Kazekage had received word only hours earlier that two toxicology-nins had disappeared from their posts at the Suna Greenhouses. Add those to the Jōnin who had gone missing from Konoha and similar reports from Iwakagure in the Land of Earth, and it was hard to discount the possibility that all the incidents might be connected.

Reports had also been received that opposition to the forming Union between the five great nations was developing in the smaller countries. Whether this unrest was related to the violence on the Iron border and the missing shinobi was still uncertain. But the news made Sasuke's upcoming mission there more critical than ever. Peace had been hard-won. Kakashi wanted to make sure two months of it wasn't all they would get.

He was just about to crack open a bottle of beer when he heard footsteps on the stairs. A moment later, Sakura's pink head appeared around the railing and she walked toward him.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei." Her voice sounded weary, and as she stood before him, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. "I thought you might still be up here. Do you mind some company?"

As she spoke, Kakashi saw a shiver tremble through her body. "You're always good company Sakura," he said as he stood and pulled off his cloak. "Is everything alright?" He hadn't seen her look this vulnerable since the night they returned to Konoha.

"Oh . . . yeah, everything's fine. I just don't feel like being around all that noise right now."

"Ah, I see." He could tell she wasn't alright, but he wouldn't push her. "Well, you look like you're freezing, so if you're going to sit up here, let's get you warmed up." As he spoke, he flipped his cloak over her shoulders.

She protested as he gathered the heavy fabric snug around her and began buttoning it. "What about you? You'll get cold."

"You need it more right now. Besides, you've done your fair share of looking out for me over the years. And if I get too cold, I'll just summon the dogs and huddle under them."

She smiled, and then laughed when he fastened the cloak all the way up to her chin. "There, that should do it," he said, and briskly rubbed the sides of her arms a few times.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei." And as he sat back down, she sank into the chair beside him.

Above them, a half moon shone through drifting intermittent clouds and bathed the roof in a silvery blue glow. He wondered if her mood had something to do with Sasuke. He had seen them disappear earlier behind the garden wall below, and had assumed it meant Sasuke had finally come around. But now he wasn't so sure. The look on her face didn't seem that of a girl happy in love.

"I hear Shikamaru has been selected to be Konoha's Shinobi Union representative." Sakura said absently. She had reclined in her chair and now turned her head toward him, the right side of her face nestled against the chair back and the hood of his cloak.

So she didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering her, he thought. "Yes, and the Union headquarters will be in the Land of Iron. So I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled he is to have to go there at least twice a year now."

The corner of her lips curved in a faint smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. "If there's anyone who can complain more than Naruto does about school, it'll be Shikamaru when he's tramping through those storms in the mountains of Iron country."

Kakashi chuckled at the thought. "But he'll be exactly what the Union needs, of that I'm sure. It looks like the early stages of this alliance are only going to become more challenging." He looked back toward the inky star-filled sky. They had a long road ahead of them. "Already the Union has received requests from some of the smaller nations to join, and finding a structure that makes everyone happy may be impossible. The five great nations will be contributing the bulk of the money and shinobi forces and want the majority of the decision-making. The smaller nations want every nation to have an equal vote. Power blocs are sure to form soon."

"Nothing can ever run smoothly, can it? But I still think it'll succeed. It has to. We've all fought too hard for it not to." Her eyes took on a far-away look as she stared up at the sky. With a sigh, she then said, "Can you believe it was almost six years ago that we all sat together that first day as Genin and told you what we dreamed of for the future?"

Kakashi looked at her. Her profile was stark against the night and her hair shone almost lavender in the light of the moon. "You're right. It'll be six years this January? What made you think of that?"

"I don't know. I guess I was just thinking about how far we've all come."

Kakashi thought back to that day. He had known more about his team going into that first meeting than they had known about him, and as he had expected, they had been three of the biggest knuckleheads he'd ever met. Naruto had excitedly stated that he would surpass the Hokage and earn the village's acknowledgement. Sasuke had declared it his life's ambition to revenge himself on the person who had destroyed his clan. And of course Sakura had only wanted Sasuke.

Now, they were arguably the three most powerful ninja in the village, if not the world, but Kakashi wondered if they were prepared for the futures they had chosen. Naruto had no idea what it meant to be Hokage, Sasuke was aimless and filled with self-loathing, and Sakura—well, from what he had seen over the last month, it seemed Sakura somehow still believed all she needed for happiness was Sasuke.

"What's wrong, Sakura?"

She turned her face toward his again, and he could see the confusion written all over it. "You know, it struck me as I was walking up the stairs just now that we've all actually achieved those childhood dreams, and yet . . ." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Kakashi watched her struggle with her thoughts. So something _had_ happened between her and Sasuke.

"I wonder if Sasuke will ever let me in. For the first time, it feels like there's something real between us, but. . ." A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "I can see us married with a family and I still won't know anything about him."

"Sometimes things just take time." Kakashi knew Sasuke needed time to forgive himself and Sakura needed time to discover what made her happy. One of those would come first; he just didn't know which it would be. And for now, her eyes were so sad. "I think it's obvious to anyone who knows him that he cares a great deal for you. Loss and grief are different for everyone. I know. Just give it time."

"I'll try." She sighed again but he could see hints of hope in her expression.

"And besides, you act like this is the end and things should be resolved now, but not _all_ of us have achieved the dreams we talked about that day." His mouth curved into a mischievous smirk beneath his mask.

She turned to him with a quizzically impish smile. "Do you mean _you_?" She raised an eyebrow. "If I remember right, you wouldn't tell us your likes or dislikes and said you'd never even thought about your dreams for the future." Her voice was teasing and admonishing at the same time.

"I lied," he said simply.

Sakura laughed a full throaty laugh that made him grin. "Ok," she said. "So what were your dreams for the future then?"

"Maybe I'll tell you someday."

"Hey! Not fair! You can't bring it up and then not tell me!" She sat up and turned a scolding stare in his direction.

"Who says?"

Her frustrated groan only made him smile. "Well, can I guess?"

"Sure." He settled back, the picture of relaxation, and closed his eyes.

"Will you tell me if I guess right?"

"No."

"Ugh, you are so annoying."

He glanced over at her and smiled again. "But go ahead and guess. I'm curious as to what you'll come up with."

"Ok, fine." She curled up in her chair, her right side nestled against its back, and studied him. Her eyes twinkled, and he noticed that they appeared almost cyan in the moonglow.

After a while, she spoke. "You know, I was going to joke and say you dreamed only of a lifetime of new Icha Icha novels and no responsibility, but I think you actually dream of the same things I do."

"And what's that?" Kakashi asked, his voice low.

"Peace, true love, your comrades safe." She smiled. "Admit it, I'm right."

"I don't know, you tell me." He chuckled as her eyes blazed in playful indignation.

"Will you tell me if I got at least one right?"

He'd been trying to cheer her mood with some lighthearted banter but as they talked, he realized he had needed this too. "What were my choices again? Lifetime Icha Icha, no responsibility, world peace, safe comrades, and true love?"

"Yeah," she responded, and her lips quirked skeptically.

"How about this—you got at least two right." And as he looked at her, his lips curved in an easy smile beneath the mask.

She sank against the chair and smiled back at him. "Well, Kakashi-sensei, I hope your dreams come true."

"Yours too Sakura."

She looked up at the expanse of night sky then and exhaled, but it sounded contented this time. "I guess I'd better get back to this party I'm supposed to be hosting." She turned to him as she stood. "You coming down?"

"I'll be down in a minute," he responded as she handed him his cloak.

After she'd left, Kakashi reached for the beer that had been temporarily abandoned, and with the neck of the bottle held against the chair arm, he brought the edge of his fist lightly down and popped the cap off. Reclining again, he pulled his mask down to bunch around his neck and took a long drink.

The thought of Sakura still troubled him, as it had started to do more and more often recently. Her strength, intelligence, and compassion made her capable of achieving whatever she wanted in the future, and yet she didn't see it. And Kakashi knew Sasuke didn't see it yet either.

Maybe keeping them together, at least for a little while longer, was the answer. After all, it was his fault Sasuke had left the village in the first place. He now owed it to them to do everything possible to help them get what they needed and wanted. And after the reports he'd heard this week, it was clear the upcoming mission to the Land of Iron was more critical than they had at first believed. As capable a shinobi as Sasuke was, it really wasn't the right mission to test him with.

As Kakashi sat there with his beer and the moon and the stars, the idea that he should take Sasuke's place on the upcoming mission took root in his mind. To him, it was the obvious choice, but he'd propose the idea to Tsunade in the morning and let her decide.

A gust of icy air chilled his skin beneath the thin sweater he wore and he stood to swing his cloak around his shoulders. As he wrapped it around himself and sat back into his chair, he caught the scent of orange blossoms and lavender. Another thing that smelled like her, he thought, and with a shake of his head, he smiled against the rim of his bottle before taking another drink.

* * *

It almost didn't happen. Lady Tsunade had been conveniently elsewhere when he had sought her out in her office, and he'd at first thought everything would end up going the way it had already been planned, but he'd soon found her in the training grounds behind the academy.

She hadn't been happy with the proposal at first but had soon seen its merits. Sasuke wasn't the best choice, despite his skills. And as the next Hokage, it was important for Kakashi to visit the Western Coast and cement relationships there. So with less effort than he had expected, it was settled.

Later, when Kakashi didn't find Sasuke at home, he went to the forest outside Konoha where he knew Itachi used to train. As he drew close, he heard the familiar thump of shuriken lodging into wooden targets and soon saw Sasuke standing in the center of a clearing.

"How did you find me here?" Sasuke spoke without turning his head as Kakashi approached from behind.

"You forget I trained here myself once or twice." He stopped beside Sasuke and looked out toward the targets, his hands in his pockets. The wind groaned around the bare trees and lifted the dead leaves on the air in crisp swirls of brown and gold.

Sasuke walked to the targets and pulled the shuriken out of the faded and flaking wood one by one. He met Kakashi's eyes on the way back.

"I came to talk to you about your mission," Kakashi said.

Sasuke frowned. "Is there a change?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. I'll be taking your place."

"Why?" Sasuke's face hardened. "The Hokage wanted me on this mission. I should be the one to go."

"Because I think you should stay in the village a bit longer."

Sasuke made a sound of harsh derision, and with such speed that the movement of his body was a blur, he hurled six shuriken at once, each one embedding in the center of a separate target with a sharp splintering thud.

"Sasuke, I'll be blunt. By rights, you should still be in prison. But all your actions up to now have been pardoned. Your help in the war played a big part in the decision. But so did the fact that I became the Sixth Hokage and that Naruto testified on your behalf. Don't forget that. You wouldn't have this chance if it weren't for your friends, and they need you right now."

"You think I don't know that if it wasn't for Naruto, I wouldn't have found salvation? That if it wasn't for him and you and Sakura, I wouldn't be here?" His voice was calm, but Kakashi could hear the frustration brewing beneath the surface. "This was supposed to be a mission to atone for my sins. I need time to understand my feelings. How I should view the shinobi world, this world. There's nothing I can do if I stay in the village."

"Listen, I know you don't see it yet so you can do what you will with what I have to say, but I told you years ago that the hole in your heart will get filled by the people who love you. There's more for you in the village than anywhere else." Kakashi's eyes were calm and steady as they met Sasuke's.

"Well, it doesn't much matter whether I agree or not," Sasuke said. "I have no choice."

"You always have a choice." Kakashi sighed.

Sasuke's lip curled as he walked toward the targets again. "After everything you've seen, I can't believe you're still an idealist. The world may change, Kakashi, but the soul of a shinobi never will."

"Perhaps not, but do you even know your own soul? Stay here a little bit longer, Sasuke."

* * *

The next morning, Kakashi woke to a gray December dawn and the now faint scent of lavender and orange blossoms and sugar. It had become a familiar morning fragrance, ever since his broken collarbone had made him the owner of Sakura's pink scarf. He had picked up a real sling that same day, and had tossed the scarf over one of his bedposts with every intention of giving it back to her. But there it remained.

He swung his legs to the floor and stood up. He neither looked forward to nor dreaded the upcoming weeks. After over a thousand missions and too many years of these mornings, all that ran through his mind was a dry visualization of the day ahead. Shower, dress, breakfast, long visit to the Memorial Stone, stop at the Academy to see Naruto, farewells to Sasuke and Sakura at the village gates, and then take the forest road toward the Land of Rivers, and reach the Wind border by nightfall.

By the time his mind had reached the evening campsite, he was pulling on his flak jacket and taking a last look around the room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything he would need on the road. He'd packed for so many missions and always had a bag ready to go, that he wondered why he still did this. It had been years since he'd looked around his room and actually noticed something he'd forgotten.

But today, as he was just about to turn toward the door, Sakura's pink scarf caught his eye. And today, without another thought, he reached for it, stuffed it in his pack, and set out for the Memorial Stone.

Later, he arrived at the village gates where he met Sasuke and Sakura waiting for him. They stood side by side, and Kakashi was struck with an almost disorienting sense that this moment had happened to him before. He had once heard that such a feeling was the soul's recognition that it was at a crossroad, a moment where a different future could be decided with a single choice.

He wondered what string of events would be set into motion by this decision. After all, it could just as easily have been him standing there with Sakura and wishing Sasuke farewell. But the choice had been made, and he hoped it was the right one.

"Will you really be gone a month?" Sakura asked.

"At least," Kakashi replied.

Sasuke frowned. "You shouldn't be away from the village for so long. I'll ask again that you reconsider."

"Sasuke, the best atonement is for you to stay for now and become a part of this village." Kakashi's voice was firm as he held his former student's gaze.

"Understood," Sasuke finally said, resigned.

"But since I won't be around, please don't get too reckless," Kakashi continued, his tone now flippant as he smirked. "Otherwise, I'll be held responsible."

Sasuke's lips curved in the faintest of smiles. "I'll do my best."

Kakashi laid his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and gave it a brief squeeze. He then turned to Sakura and smiled. Only the crinkle at the corners of his eyes was visible. "I'll be counting on you to keep him out of trouble."

"Don't be silly, Kakashi-sensei." She blushed. "But please be careful. Since _I_ won't be around, I'll trust you not to get too reckless either. You're going to be a thousand miles away. It'll take me a while to reach you if you go and do something stupid."

He chuckled. "Actually, Naruto informed me earlier that it's exactly 1,022 miles."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm glad school's teaching him something. And don't try to change the subject."

"Don't worry Sakura. I'm sure I'll be able to fend for myself for a few weeks. But it is nice to know you'd trek through those storms in the western mountains just to patch up my scrapes and bruises."

"Of course I would." She sounded mildly indignant. "It wouldn't matter if it was raindrops or spears falling from the sky, I'd get to you." Then she flashed a grin. "But if it's all the same, I would rather you not get hurt."

"As you wish," he said. He then nodded once more to Sasuke. "I'll be back before you know it." And in a whirlwind of leaves, he was gone.

* * *

A/N: So Naruto is becoming a weird trivia guru with all that school, so if there's anything you want him to tell you about the shinobi world, let me know and he'll give you the surprising answer in an upcoming chapter.

And of course Naruto can dance.

I love Ino-she's so badass. I need to give her more screen time. Yes, Sakura's a bit wilty so far, but exciting things are coming. Speaking of exciting things, I can honestly say that sexy Kakashi is in the very near future.

I love the reviews-please review some more cuz it keeps me going!


	5. Chapter 5 - One Worth Betting On

A/N: So excited that this damn chapter is finally up! It was so hard to write. I thought I'd take it in one direction, and then scrapped it for another, only to go back to the first idea again in the end. There is some mild violence at the end of the chapter (fight scene) but I don't think it's graphic enough for me to change this to M. Content warning anyway, just to be safe.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 **One Worth Betting On**

* * *

The rain fell in a steady shower and the breeze that ruffled her hair was as sweet and wet as an autumn evening. It was the warmest December Konoha had seen in years.

Sasuke sat against the open doorframe, his arm resting on his bent knee as he stared out across the puddled garden. To Sakura, he had the air of someone who'd lived more than one lifetime and had traveled through places she'd never understand. There had been times in the last few weeks when he had opened his thoughts to her and let her glimpse the edges of his fears and regrets before pulling the curtain down again, but they had been rare. And today, though she sat across from him, her back against the opposite doorframe, she felt a world away.

It had been three weeks since the night of her party but he hadn't kissed her again. They hadn't even talked about it and the more time went by, the harder it was for her to bring up. But Sakura didn't really want to talk about it anyway. All she wanted to do was grab him by the collar and kiss him again, or climb into his lap and . . .

She blushed at the thought, but then frowned. _Well, why not? Wasn't that what couples did?_ _Sure_ , she thought, _but is that what we are?_

Perhaps sensing her eyes on him, he came out of his reverie and looked at her. His own eyes, one a bottomless black and one a glistening purple swirl, seemed to hold volumes of mysteries, mysteries she wondered if he'd ever reveal to her. But he gave her a faint smile and for now, that was enough.

Stretching her legs in front of her, she returned his smile. "You've been more quiet than usual since Naruto left. What are you thinking about?"

He didn't answer at first, but only turned to look again at the Uchiha crest on the wall across the yard, its paint flaking and faded after nine summers of neglect.

Like the forests, cemetery, and training grounds that ringed the village's walls, the Uchiha compound was on the outskirts and had been spared most of the destruction the rest of Konoha had suffered a year before the war. And now, after the work the boys and her had put in, the house and surrounding buildings were almost unrecognizable from the rubble-strewn and broken sight they'd been when Sasuke had returned. The debris had been cleared, the house repaired and painted, and the gently sloped roofs had all been re-tiled in glistening gray slate.

Only the symbol of the Uchiha clan, which adorned so many surfaces around the house, had not been repainted. "It doesn't feel right to paint them," Sasuke had said. "Not before the clan is restored." Naruto, who at the time had been about to take a dripping red paintbrush to the crest, giggled something suggestive to Sakura under his breath before flashing her a conspiratorial smirk and walking away. Sasuke had followed, and Sakura had been left gazing at the peeling symbol with flushed cheeks. Now, looking at it through the falling rain, she wondered if it would ever be repainted.

"I'm leaving," Sasuke finally said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, her thoughts yanked back to the present with a jolt. "When?"

"In a week," he answered, his eyes still fixed on some point in the distance. "I talked to the Hokage. I'll be taking over for Kakashi in Iron country, and after that I'll go wherever I find threats to Konoha."

Sakura felt blindsided. "In other words, you'll be gone a long time."

"As long as it takes to figure out what I want. I need to know how what I saw and learned in the war fits into everything. How I fit into everything."

Rain dripped from the curved eaves, and for a few minutes, all she could hear was the pattering of raindrops on the wood slats of the veranda. What could she say? She knew he'd felt like this for a long time. "I'm here for you," Sakura finally said. "I wish you trusted me enough to let me help you."

"It's not about trust," he said, the frustration in his voice was almost palpable. "It's about finding answers."

"Have you never thought that if you let us in you might find the answers you're looking for?" She couldn't keep the desperation out of her voice. For weeks she had seen the torment in his eyes. Why wouldn't he let her carry some of that burden for him?

"Kakashi seems to think the same thing," Sasuke muttered, his eyes flashing and his deep voice holding a note of disdain. "Even though no one can understand, everyone still seems to think they know what's good for me better than I do."

Sakura bristled. "That's not fair."

"Did you know that when Itachi was reincarnated during the war, I got to talk to him?" His voice sounded almost like a challenge.

"You did?" Her eyes widened. She had learned some of Itachi's story, and now knew he had been trying to protect the village nine years ago when he had killed every Uchiha except his brother. Itachi had always been the villain, the enemy of Konoha, and learning that he had been one of its protectors all along had been a shock.

"All that hate was based on a lie. Everything he said was said to make me hate him. He wanted me to be the one to punish him."

Sasuke stared into the darkness of the garden again. "But all the time he'd been doing everything to protect me." A momentary look of intense regret passed over his face. "When he poked me on the forehead before he died, I think he wanted me to know, but I didn't see it."

"When he poked you?" Sakura asked softly, yearning to cross the space between them and pull him into her arms.

With a bitter smile, Sasuke tilted his head toward her. "It was his way of saying he cared. He used to do it all the time when I was a kid." A sudden weariness seemed to bear down on him. "If I'm going to make amends on my own terms, I need to get out of Konoha, Sakura. I can't do anything trapped inside its walls."

"I'm not trying to stop you," Sakura insisted, her voice almost frantic. "But why do you think you have to take everything on alone? It doesn't have to be one or the other you know." After everything, how could he still want to push her away? "You know I can come with you."

"My answer hasn't changed," he said, returning her gaze. "I told you before. No one else has anything to do with my sins." His expression wasn't cold, but it was firm, and Sakura wanted to scream in frustration, to beat his chest until he was forced to confront what existed between them.

"I don't understand," she said. "What about _us_? Will we ever talk about what happened?"

"Sakura . . ." A sharp sigh gusted through his lips and he trailed off. The rain fell and the silence stretched on between them. _Well?_ she wanted to say. _What is it?_

But just as she felt she'd scream if one more second of this . . . nothingness . . . passed, she heard the most incongruous sound. The rumble of Sasuke's stomach. And despite her frustration and sadness, an astonished smile curved her lips. With his forbidding exterior, it was easy to forget there was a human being underneath it all. "Are you _hungry_?" she asked.

"It's been a while since I ate anything," he said, and the sudden sheepish expression on his face melted Sakura's agitation.

Her smile softened and she let her breath out in something like a sigh and pulled herself to her feet. "Well, I guess I can start that fish I brought. It'll be a feast." At her words, she noticed that he almost looked startled . . . and something else she couldn't quite read, as if she had suddenly done something that made him see her in an unexpected way. Whatever it was, it was a look that set a hundred ink butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "What?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"Nothing," he replied, recovering, and his face smoothed into its usual calm as he stood. "That sounds good. I'll help."

"Really? Have you learned how to cook?" A skeptical smirk played at the corners of Sakura's mouth. "I seem to remember everything you cooked on our missions tasted like roast rat." She looked sideways at him and saw the hint of a smile.

"Well, it probably was roast rat," he said, his voice amused.

"Hmmm, maybe so, but I'm not taking any chances," she teased. "Have a seat, it won't take long anyway."

True to her estimate, less than a half hour later they carried their plates to the veranda. The night was balmy after the rain, and they settled down on the step with their feet in the damp moonlit grass as the remaining storm clouds made a slow trek across the sky.

This time, Sakura hesitated to break the silence as she contemplated the Uchiha crest on the garden wall. "I've never asked," she finally murmured. "Why is your clan sign a fan?"

Sasuke lifted his eyes and looked at the symbol for so long that Sakura wondered if he would answer. "Because the Uchiha are fire release users," he finally replied, his voice monotone and low. "My father said it represents the fan that rouses the flame of the clan's will."

And now the clan was all but gone. "I'm sorry," she said, trying to keep her own voice steady. He had always seemed so tough when they were younger. Now, his profile rimmed in moonlight, she saw the child in him and wanted to reach out and hold him.

"I know you want to come with me Sakura," he began, his entire demeanor suddenly weighed down. "But the only way I can answer these questions is alone."

"Sasuke. . ."

"It's the only way for now," Sasuke interrupted. "Please try to understand."

* * *

A few days later, Sakura sank to the grass of the Third Training Grounds and Naruto dropped beside her, sprawling lazily on his back with his hand beneath his head.

Sasuke stared down at them with a raised eyebrow and a teasing sneer. "Tired already?"

"One-handed jutsu aren't exactly easy when you have someone slinging lightning balls at you," Naruto replied, "and _another_ someone," with this, he eyed Sakura, "punching the ground out from under you every second."

Curving her legs beneath her to sit cross-legged, Sakura leaned back and looked down at him. "What? You expect me to go easy on you?"

"Hey, move back!" Naruto said, squinting up at her. "You were blocking the sun."

"You idiot, I'm not your sun visor," she laughed, but obliged him by leaning forward again so that she cast a shadow over his face.

"And no, I don't expect anyone to go easy on me," Naruto answered. "But Sasuke's the one leaving tomorrow. You should be helping me gang up on _him_ , not the other way around."

This only provoked another laugh from Sakura.

Sasuke smirked and sat down. "Those chidori were one-handed too."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said. "Anyway, you ready for your mission? What's the latest on this insurgent group Kakashi's been tracking?"

"From the briefing this morning, it seems it's more widespread than anyone thought. They're poison users based in the Land of Silence, but they also have cells in the smaller nations. One of the largest is operating in Rain right now."

"Rain? Will you be going that route to get to Suna?" Sakura asked.

"No. I'll take the Rivers route. I'll be camping the first night at the tri-point though."

"Our old Team 7 campsite?" Naruto asked excitedly as he turned his eyes toward Sasuke.

"Near it. But I might go through Rain on my way back to Lightning," Sasuke answered. "The Hokage is sending an ANBU team first for reconnaissance."

"Man, those early Wind missions were fun, you know," Naruto said, his voice nostalgic as he closed his eyes again. "It's sad to hear what's going on in the Land of Rain now though. "Will you come through Konoha on your way back?"

"I don't know," Sasuke replied offhandedly. "It depends on where the mission leads."

"Well, if you do go through Rain country, you should know the volcanic dirt is poisonous," Naruto said without opening his eyes. "And watch out for the Tsurube-otoshi. They drop out of the trees in the southern forest there and eat humans."

"What?" Sakura sputtered, laughing. "That's nonsense. What the hell is Iruka-sensei teaching these days? Please tell me you're learning something useful in school."

Naruto grinned at her. "If those books taught anything useful, I might have known growing up who my dad was. Believe it that when I become Hokage, the academy is getting better textbooks."

Sakura laughed again and raised her fingers absently to her throat, only to find that her necklace wasn't there. Its absence didn't register at first, but then her eyes widened. "My necklace!" she cried, clutching at her neck. "Where's my necklace?" Her eyes began frantically searching the ground for the tiny pendant.

"What necklace?" Sasuke asked.

"The one I wear all the time. The one my dad gave me!" She remembered putting it on that morning, so it must have fallen off in the trees when they were sparring. With a sinking dread, she realized that it was probably in the beak of some bird by now, or beneath a pile of rocks she had punched from the ground. "Ohhhh, I can't believe this. He's worn it since he was a kid."

"What did it look like?" Sasuke asked, watching her curiously.

"It's the pink cherry blossom," she answered, her voice frantic. "It has four pink petals and one purple one."

"Don't worry Sakura, it'll turn up," Naruto reassured her. He had hopped up and was now shuffling around on his knees as he peered at the ground. "Kakashi will be back in two days. He can summon his dogs and they'll sniff it out in no time."

If the necklace wasn't at the top of a tree, maybe the dogs would be able to find it, but she doubted it. Sitting back on her heels, she put her head in her hands. She'd tried so hard to be lighthearted the last few days, doing her best to hide the heartbreak she felt over Sasuke's upcoming mission, but now the bottled up stress overflowed and she let the tears flow.

* * *

When Sasuke arrived at the village gates the next morning, Sakura was waiting for him. With a subdued smile, she met his eyes as he stopped before her. He was beautiful in the hazy dawn light and she wanted nothing more than to lean into his warmth and not let go.

"So this is it," she said.

"This is it." He stood resolute, his face emotionless as the cool breeze lifted his black hair around his brow.

The silence began to feel like a wall, and Sakura finally spoke, her voice artificially light. "Well, write often. And hurry home. We'll all be waiting for you."

But she knew he could see through the cheery facade and a troubled look darted briefly across his face. "Sakura, you shouldn't wait for me. I don't know when I'll be back."

The strong demeanor she had struggled for crumbled, and her throat suddenly ached with the effort to hold the tears back. "Don't tell me not to wait for you," she said hoarsely. "Don't tell me what to feel for you."

At her words, his calm expression wavered again, and she was sure she saw sadness in it. "Why do you do this to yourself?" he asked. "I don't want you to be hurting. Nobody is worth that."

"You're worth it." Her eyes stung. "So it doesn't matter how long you'll be gone. When you come back, I'll be here for you. I can promise you that." Her voice broke. Searching his eyes, she wished she could find the words that would steal into his heart and make him feel what he had when he'd kissed her in the moonlight. "But you don't have to go alone. You know that. I'm so scared that if I don't come with you, I'll lose what little I have of you."

She wanted his arm around her, wanted to hear him tell her she'd never lose him, no matter how long he was away, to feel him gather her close and kiss her with such passion that they turned the world to flame around them.

But he did none of those things. Instead, he lifted his hand slowly, and gently poked her forehead, letting his fingertips linger for just a moment before dropping his hand back to his side. "Maybe next time Sakura." And as his eyes held hers, she was sure she saw a brief but unmistakable expression of longing cross his face. But then he flickered away, and was gone.

* * *

A furious gale gusted through the trees at the Fire Country border, whipping Sakura's hair and lifting the dust of the road in swirling drafts. She bent her head against the wind and pulled her cloak tighter as the biting chill mist shivered through her body. The surrounding forest seemed to encircle her menacingly as it curved high overhead and blocked out the night sky.

She knew she was asking for trouble just by entering Ame no Kuni—the Land of Rain—but she didn't care. It was the shorter route to the Land of Wind, being a straight shot west from Konoha, and it was her only chance to catch up to Sasuke before he broke camp in the morning.

The decision to follow him had been so sudden that Sakura only had time to leave Ino a hurried note before she had set off earlier in the evening. If Sasuke had left as planned a month ago, she would never have done this. Instead, she probably would have waited for him for years, sustained on that single kiss, until he found himself and came back. But a month ago he was almost a different person.

Since then, his struggles had become so much more obvious to her. She had seen the cracks in his reserve, moments when the anger and frustration and regret were written plainly on his face. Hundreds of cases of post traumatic stress had come through her door since the war and she knew the signs.

But she was just as sure that, despite his torment, Sasuke cared for her. Laying on her bed that evening, she had thought over every moment between them, from the night he had appeared at her door almost two months ago to the look on his face when he had said goodbye just that morning. That look alone made her heart thump.

And then she thought of what Kakashi had told her and Naruto the day after the pardon—that it was up to them to make sure Sasuke didn't fall into the darkness again. That he needed them more than he knew.

In that instant, what she had to do became so obvious that she had bolted upright, her heart racing. Of course Sasuke would say he didn't want her to come with. Of course he would feel like it would be a burden on her. But he needed it; he needed her, Sakura was sure, and she wouldn't let the darkness get him again.

Now, as she hurried through the woods of Rain country, she felt like she couldn't get to him fast enough. A sea of hemlock firs, cypresses, and needle leaf evergreens closed in around her in dense thickets and the air was wet with fog and heavy with the scent of pine. Beneath her feet, the hard sandy dirt of Fire country gave way to the rich black volcanic soil that Rain country was known for and the forest stilled around her until the only sounds above her own breathing were an occasional skittering winter beetle or faraway wail of wind in the treetops high above.

The mist lapped over the ground, rolling around tree-roots and moss-covered rocks like a silent and ghostly river. The deepening hush gave the forest an eerie dreamlike feel so unlike Fire country that Sakura half-expected to catch a glimpse of the childlike tree spirits she heard lurked just out of the corners of sight.

But after two hours, the trees began to thin, and Sakura caught a glimpse of distant dunes silhouetted against the dark horizon and felt the first coarse grains of sand against her face. Heart racing, her stomach clenched, and with a burst of chakra to her feet she increased her speed. Leaving the dark forest behind, she closed her eyes and breathed the earthy dust-heavy air of the desert morning in deep thirsty gulps. The border of Wind was near.

Ten minutes later, she was crossing it, and five minutes more would bring her to the tri-point—the site just inside the Wind border where the countries of Rain, Wind, and Rivers met. She hoped she wasn't too late, that Sasuke hadn't packed up already. And then she saw him.

He was crouched down, his back to her as he bundled up his sleeping roll, but he spoke as she approached, and his voice was hard and cold and so different from what it had been the morning before. "What are you doing here, Sakura?"

Out of breath, and suddenly feeling hesitant and embarrassed, she halted as he stood and faced her. But when she met his eyes her words came out in a rush.

"I kept thinking about the things you've said. And the way you look at me sometimes. And I know you've been struggling so much. So I couldn't let you be alone for months or even years when I knew you needed me, whether you wanted to say so or not. So many lives are wasted because people won't say or do what's in their hearts. I didn't want that to be us."

"You don't need . . ." Sasuke began, but she stopped him.

"Please let me finish." She stepped closer, until she was inches from him. "It seems like you think you have to shoulder this burden all alone. But you don't. Maybe you think you'll hurt people again. Or maybe you don't think you deserve to be loved. But whatever it is, it breaks my heart. I don't care how dark what you're going through is. Let me share it. Let me take some of it off your shoulders." She searched his eyes and for the briefest moment, she saw such loneliness in them. But then he let his expression harden and took a step back.

"I'm sorry Sakura. You made a mistake coming here. You should go home."

At his words, her face twisted with sadness. "Stop it. Just stop it!" she cried, her voice broken. "I know you care. Stop pushing me away."

His emotionless stare didn't waver. "I know you want to help me. You've already done too much for me though. There's nothing more you can do."

"Why do you do this?" Sakura asked. "After everything, how can you act like you don't care?"

"I do care about you. But what do you want me to say? I don't want to hurt you, but I can't be what you want me to be. Don't do this."

She felt unsteady and her stomach churned. "So are you saying I read everything wrong? Why did you kiss me then? Why did you. . ." Her voice trailed off as she absently reached up to touch her forehead with her fingertips. "Did you feel sorry for me or something?" Her voice choked and she could read nothing in his expression. "Answer me!" she shouted when he remained silent, her anger flaring over her sadness.

For a moment longer, he said nothing. But then, his face suddenly cold, he spoke. "Sakura, I don't feel what you feel. I never have and I never will." He made no attempt to soften his words and each one felt like a knife in her chest. "I won't ever be able to return your feelings. Please don't follow me."

And suddenly it was as though she were thirteen and watching him leave Konoha all over again. But this time, she didn't threaten to scream if he left. Instead, when he turned and flickered away, she just let him go.

* * *

Numb and devastated, oblivious to the cold and heedless of her surroundings, Sakura stumbled back toward Konoha the way she had come. She knew it was smarter to return through the Land of Rivers, but the thought of taking the same road Sasuke had was impossible. So beneath a pre-dawn sky that barely filtered through the choked canopy of trees, Sakura once again headed deep into the southern forest of Rain country.

Besides, there was no room in her mind for fear. If any raggedy barbarians wanted to try her, she thought, she would welcome them, especially in her current state of mind. Nothing that touched her would live. Not the lawless nin that roamed Rain country nor any Tsurube-otoshi that might be lurking high in the pine boughs. Maybe it was foolish, but even without the reckless certainty that she would get home unharmed, she carried the incautious confidence that comes with a broken heart—that of simply not caring whether she lived or died.

More than an hour had passed and it was when Sakura was barely thirty miles from the Fire border that she saw them. Three shinobi—two men and one woman, twenty yards ahead of her and blocking the path. She cursed and thought of sprinting around them, but they had spotted her and she couldn't hope to hide now.

She knew she could easily take them out with one chakra-infused punch to the ground, but she wasn't even sure they were threats, and the last thing she wanted was to severely injure her Rain country neighbors with no provocation.

Drawing close enough to make out finer details, she noticed they weren't dressed like ninja and didn't wear identifying hitai-ate, and for a moment wondered if they were simply country travelers passing through the same way she was. But with every step closer, it became more clear from their lean muscled builds that her first impression had been right. They were shinobi. They radiated that casual power that only comes from years of training.

As Sakura approached, she slowed until she stood about ten feet from them. "Good morning," she said lightly. "You have beautiful country here. But I'm in a hurry. So if you'll excuse me, I need to get by." She spoke in an unconcerned and cheery tone but her radar was on high alert as she scanned the clearing with her eyes.

Two more behind her now. Three in the trees. She wished she had Ino's sensory ability, but after years of training and mission experience, she was the closest to certain she could be. Eight against one. Not ideal, but she'd been in fights with worse odds.

"Well, see, we can't let you just pass," one of the men in her way said with a menacing laugh. His hair was a flaming orange and his amber eyes reminded her of a tiger. "This is our territory and there's a toll for anyone who wants to take this road."

 _So, it's going to be like that, is it?_ Sakura sighed. She was not in the mood for this. With a raised eyebrow, she smiled sweetly. "I wouldn't exactly call this a road. And I didn't know the Rain government employed country bandits to patrol its forests."

"We don't speak for any government, sweetheart. If you knew anything, you'd know there hasn't been a government in this country for a while. You're a long way from that shinobi union of yours." He spat out the last few words with a derisive scoff. "But as fun as it would be to add your Konoha hitai-ate to our collection, we do have this little project we're funding, so we'll cut you a break. 10,000,000 ryō and you can be on your little way."

Sakura laughed. "10,000,000 ryō? That's less than I got for the last missing-nin I turned in." Then, her voice still saccharine as she tightened her gloves, she went on. "And if you knew anything, you'd know it was me and my comrades who took out the last Rain government." As she spoke, she channeled chakra into her fist, feeling that familiar rushing tug in her belly as her chakra pathways surged.

The smile on the man's face faded slightly and he looked to his companions. The nin beside him appeared unfazed though, fixing Sakura with a malevolent stare as he stood with his arms crossed and his eyes glinting beneath a shock of blue hair. Unlike the others, he radiated pure power and when his eyes met hers, all that looked out of them was sinister hate.

The kunoichi with them smiled coldly. "Well then you should have no trouble paying up," she said, her voice a venomous sing-song that matched her humorless expression.

Sakura's eyes flicked to the side as one of the ninja in the trees dropped down a little ways beside her to the right. They all looked older than Sakura, so the possibility that they were Jonin couldn't be eliminated. At least they weren't the reincarnated dead or other-worldly beings she had fought in the war, so there was that.

Returning her eyes to the three before her, she flashed a hard smile and hoped it didn't show her nerves. "I certainly won't." And immediately after, with a roaring shout of "Cha!" and her face fierce, she pummeled her fist into the ground and felt the earth crack beneath the power of its impact as she sprang back.

The ground quaked and boulders flew, crushing two of the enemy shinobi. The others were able to avoid the devastation, and landed on their feet around Sakura. _Two down, six to g_ o, Sakura thought, pushing her hair out of her face with her forearm.

Adrenaline pumped through her, twisting along her arteries, and Sakura readied herself to throw another punch to the broken ground. If she aimed it right, she could shift the flying rock up to create a temporary wall and give herself that necessary head start that would allow her to flee.

She didn't doubt that she could overpower her opponents if she had to. She had been impaled through the chest during the war and had survived due to her Strength of a Hundred jutsu—a mitotic regeneration technique that allowed her to heal any injury almost immediately as long as she had chakra flowing. And after saving it up for three years, her chakra might as well be limitless. After all, it had been _her_ chakra during the war that had successfully summoned Tsunade's giant slug Katsuyu and _her_ chakra that had been channeled through Katsuyu to heal thousands of people on the battlefield.

But she hadn't been alone then, and as confident as she was, there were too many unknowns in this fight. No, she'd rather outrun them for the thirty miles between her and the Land of Fire. If they were foolish enough to follow her over the border, so help them, they'd regret it.

"That's some impressive chakra, honey," the tiger-eyed shinobi taunted. He'd sprung up almost before Sakura's fist had hit the ground and now stood on an upturned rock just a few feet from her.

She backed up, keeping him in her line of sight, and raised her fist. But in a movement faster than she could see, he suddenly materialized before her, his hand grasping a kunai an inch away from plunging into her chest.

Sakura was fast too though, and leapt backwards as the kunai whistled through the air, its tip just catching her on her side. She winced as the razor sharp blade sliced through her skin but immediately focused her chakra to the wound as her eyes darted around her, pinpointing the positions of each enemy. The clearing was small and the dense forest canopy made for limited upward maneuverability. She couldn't let them surround her.

The kunoichi then sprang toward her, making a quick succession of hand signs as she ran. Sakura summoned her chakra once again and with a surge of speed, hurled herself toward the approaching ninja before the jutsu the girl was attempting could be activated. Feigning, Sakura threw a punch with her left hand, and her opponent blocked it, a smirk forming on her lips.

But a split second later, the smirk was knocked off the girl's face as she was hit with the full force of a cherry blossom impact focused in Sakura's right fist. The blow cracked bone and sent the ninja flying back into a tree with a crash, her skull slamming into the trunk before her entire body slumped to the ground.

Bolting back to the tree line, Sakura's eyes darted around the clearing. _Three down, five to go_. Channeling her chakra, she prepared for another crushing blow to the ground. But just as she raised her fist, a staggering slice of pain radiated through her body from the point where the kunai had slashed her earlier, and she cried out and stumbled as the chakra from her fist dissipated. Something was wrong. She should be healed.

Quickly steadying herself, she sent another burst of chakra toward the wound. Only this time, nothing happened. No tug behind her navel, no surging chakra pathways, nothing.

A cruel chuckle sounded from one of her enemies, and Sakura's attention spun to the blue-haired nin. The glint in his eyes was a threat. "I'd bet right about now you're feeling the effects of our special little brand of poison."

 _Poison?_ Sakura was an expert at poisons and had been trained to not only recognize the invasive feel of every basic type but had also learned to counteract them with chakra before they could flow through her blood stream. She had felt nothing when that kunai had slashed her. With alarm, she quickly made the hand sign that would release the chakra seal on her forehead and activate the Strength of a Hundred healing jutsu.

Nothing happened. A roiling stab of panic hit Sakura before she forced it down and took a calming breath. Somehow the poison was preventing her from accessing her chakra.

With every ounce of focus at her disposal, she again made the hand sign and willed her pathways to fire. Growing up, she'd always been the one with the most chakra control and now she almost cried in relief when she felt the tug behind her navel. But a moment later, it was gone.

The shinobi took a few steps closer, and Sakura now saw that his eyes, icy and malicious, were almost the same shade of blue as his hair. "How does it feel to be powerless? You great nations think you can walk all over the smaller countries. You've exploited our resources, killed our people, and destroyed our lands. And Konohagakure is the worst perpetrator of war crimes out of all of them. But you and your comrades will soon get a well-deserved taste of what it means to be weak and debilitated."

Sakura scoffed. "Powerless? Nice try. If you're so confident, why are you suddenly so afraid to get close to me?" She might be without the chakra she'd need for ninjutsu, but she still had her taijutsu skills, and she could hold her own in hand-to-hand combat with the best of them.

But as she spoke, her nerves quivered and her heart raced. _No, damn it!_ These were classic signs of poisoning. Her airways would likely begin to close next. She needed to end this fight soon, or she'd be dead.

Reaching her hand into her hip pouch, she drew out two kunai. Based on how easily she'd taken down the first three, she knew her enemy couldn't be overly strong. They had probably become too reliant on the use of their poisons. She had to finish this and find help before the poison progressed too far.

"Oh, I'm not afraid," the shinobi said, a cruel grin twisting his mouth. "I just enjoy watching the great ones fall."

"You'll be dead before you get to see anything," Sakura growled. And then she rushed him. He sprung back with a flash of speed, forcing Sakura to turn toward his closest comrade, a tall lean man with midnight dark hair that hung to the middle of his back. As Sakura charged, he made a blindingly quick succession of hand signs and hurtled toward her, both hands igniting in a whoosh of crackling green flames.

At the same time, one of the other shinobi made the signs for an earth jutsu and slammed his hand to the ground. A line of rocks splintered upward with explosive force beneath Sakura, forcing her to vault airborne just as the fire-user leapt into the air straight for her. Spinning away, she barely missed his flames, and fell with a crash, her arm twisting painfully beneath her without the chakra to break her fall.

In the next second, her enemy's green flames were almost on top of her, and as Sakura desperately tried to scramble away, her hands clawing in the muddy dirt beneath her, she remembered Naruto's Rain country advice. Grasping a handful of the black earth as searing pain lanced through her, she scrabbled up and with all her force, slammed the dirt into her attacker's eyes just as he landed.

Maybe that volcanic sand _was_ poisonous or maybe it was just the force with which Sakura had shoved it in his face, but he screamed as he scratched at his eyes, and his green flames fizzled. It would only be a moment before he recovered, but a moment was all Sakura needed. Stumbling up, she buried her kunai in his throat.

Tears spurted from her eyes as she pulled her blade out, her gloved hands slick with blood that ran in sticky rivulets between her fingers. Why was this happening? She had hoped she would never kill anyone ever again. Would there never be peace?

Panting, she pushed the shinobi off of her only to see his comrade now speeding toward her. It was the tiger-eyed nin, his fist a sizzling ball of electricity. Sakura leapt with the dying reserves of her strength, her boots squelching free from the mud, and landed behind him just as his fist barreled into the trunk of the tree that had been behind her, the impact releasing an acrid smell of singed bark that stung her eyes and throat.

He turned before she could seize any advantage and both his fists were again sizzling with blue-hot balls of lightning. "I know you can't access your chakra darling. That's the beauty of that poison. It doesn't just travel through the bloodstream. It destroys the chakra pathways too, making any chakra-based techniques next to worthless." His grin was taunting as Sakura's breathing became more and more labored.

"What, did you know it would only be close to an equal fight if I couldn't use chakra?" Sakura asked with a breathless sneer, her body now throbbing with pain.

He didn't answer. Instead, he flashed forward, appearing inches from her with a cruel leer.

But she was ready this time. "You think you're fast?" Sakura managed, her voice little more than a wheezing pant. And before his fists could make contact or his eyes could register that the razor sharp point of her kunai was at his ribs, she had plunged the blade into his side with an anguished cry, her hands trembling violently.

As her enemy fell, one of his hands, still ablaze with the dying voltage of his lightning chakra, seized Sakura's forearm, scorching her flesh almost to the bone as she screamed out in pain. Flinging him off of her, his chakra finally died out, and he fell to the mud.

Perhaps it was a combination of the pain and fatigue and all the events that had led her to where she was at that moment, but her tears now spilled over and fell down her cheeks, leaving tracks through the dirt and blood that had congealed on her face. Barely able to stand, her blistered arm limp across her middle and her breathing coming more and more ragged, she looked at the three remaining shinobi and now doubted that she had the stamina to win this fight.

She couldn't activate her regeneration technique, she couldn't summon Katsuyu, and she wondered if she could even gather enough energy into her fists to do any damage. Two months after the war, she thought, and she was in the center of a battlefield again, surrounded by dead bodies, and this time she would soon be one of them.

The clearing and trees around her swam before her eyes as two of the remaining nin rushed her. They blurred into one, and then into four, and Sakura's limbs felt too heavy to lift. She tried to duck and turn to the left but the searing pain that suddenly exploded across her stomach told her she had not been quick enough to dodge the enemy kunai.

Sakura didn't need to see the gaping wound in her stomach or see the blood flowing from it to know what it meant. She could feel it. In that moment, she thought she heard someone screaming her name, but then her knees gave out and she collapsed to the jagged mossy rocks at her feet.

* * *

"Sai!" Ino cried as she pounded on his door. She was about to try the handle when it opened. Sai stood on the other side, his hair mussed as if he had just gotten out of bed, but his expression was alert and concerned.

"Sakura's left the village, and if we don't catch up to her soon, she might be in danger."

At her words, he immediately turned to grab his vest and then swung his scabbard and tantō onto his back before fastening the pack containing his scrolls and ink around his waist. As he sat to wrap his thighs and strap on his weapons pouch and shuriken holster, he looked back up at her. "Where is she now?"

"She was headed toward the Land of Rain, but so much time has passed since she left that she might already be there, or even further. She's outside the range of my mind transmission jutsu." Ino had managed to stretch the distance limits of her communication jutsu but she still couldn't reach beyond fifty miles. "I can't _believe_ her," she said, her voice raised in frustrated anger. "I just can't believe her! She's followed Sasuke like an idiot."

Sai raised an eyebrow. "Have you notified Lady Tsunade?"

"Yes. She authorized you and me to go. Sakura might have left more than eight hours ago, and we need your bird if we're going to have a chance to overtake her."

Sai stood then, and tied his hitai-ate around his forehead. "Ok, let's go."

With a rush of grateful emotion, Ino let a breath out and turned back toward the front door, but Sai stopped her.

"No, this way." And with a look of surprise, she watched as he walked toward the window, flung it open, and stepped out onto the ledge.

"Oh." Ino's stomach did a little somersault, but she clambered out after him. She had assumed they would climb onto the bird from the ground, like normal human beings.

Once out on the ledge with him, Sai crouched, and in one fluid motion he pulled a scroll from his hip pouch, unraveled it around him with a sweep of his arm, drew something on it with a flourish of ink, and made a hand-sign as he spoke the words for his beast scroll jutsu.

As the last word left his lips, a giant hawk puffed from the scroll and took flight, its white body stark against the inky sky. It circled once before returning to hover below the window, its wings fluttering against the updraft as Sai rolled up the scroll and tucked it back in its pouch. He then stepped off the ledge onto the bird as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

At the sight, Ino's eyes widened, but this time the lurch in her stomach might have had something to do with the disarming smile on Sai's face as he turned and held his hand out to her. But not entirely, she realized, as she looked down at the ground far below.

She had of course seen him soaring on his inked birds before, and had even been excited that she'd finally be able to see the world from the sky with him. But now, looking at the smooth back of the feathered creature, she hesitated. If she fell off that thing as it flew through the air, there would be nothing for her chakra to latch onto to break her fall. It would be all over for her.

"I won't let you fall," Sai said, as though he had read her mind. "I promise."

She met his eyes, and at the steady confidence in them, her doubt faded. In the next instant, she had given him her hand and taken a tiny leap onto the bird. But the moment she landed, her legs swayed beneath her and a soft gasp escaped her lips. She had expected its back to feel cushy like a trampoline, but it felt more like she had landed on a wobbly stool. As she stumbled, Sai's arm came around her waist, and her hands shot up to clutch at his shoulders.

"See? I've got you." His voice was low as he held her firm against his body to steady her, and this time when her eyes locked with his, it was definitely more than the unsteadiness of the bird that made her knees wobble.

"Thank you." Her voice was breathless, and she suddenly became very aware of Sai's closeness, of the texture of his sweater and the hard planes of his shoulders beneath her fingers, of the swish sound of her flak jacket as it rubbed against his, and of the scent of him, like almonds and vanilla and fresh sea-tinted earth. And then he smiled that beautiful boyish smile and her heart pounded just a little harder. She wondered if her closeness was having the same effect on him.

"Let me know when you feel ok to stand," he said. But his face was so genuinely friendly that Ino wondered if he would have acted this way with anybody.

"Thanks, I'm ok now," she said, as she drew slowly away from him, feeling for her balance.

"It'll be easier to sit," he said. "You can hang on better that way. I'll sit too."

She looked questioningly at him, and his eyes were encouraging as he lowered himself to the bird's back. She followed suit, straddling it just behind its neck, and wrapped her hands around its papery feathers. They felt rough and fuzzy like construction paper and had the comforting smell of camphor and charcoal. But only when she felt Sai settle behind her did she finally feel a semblance of security atop the swaying creature, despite the uncomfortable seesaw sensation in the pit of her stomach.

"Ready?" Sai's breath was warm against her ear, and a shiver tingled up her spine. Did he really not know what he did to her?

"Yes, I think," she murmured.

"Ok, hold on. But don't close your eyes. You'll miss the view." And then in a whoosh, she felt the leaping upward climb of the bird as it beat its wings against the press of the sky and she let out a half-nervous, half-delighted laugh. But despite Sai's advice, her eyes flew shut as her hands clamped down in a death-grip around the bird's feathers, and even with the rush of wind around her she could feel the blood pounding in her ears.

But Sai's calmness never wavered and as Ino became accustomed to the feel of the ascent, she finally found enough nerve to open her eyes. And what she saw was magic.

Vibrant indigos, deep greens, and velvet shades of blue streaked across the horizon in a saturated spill of color against the star-filled sky. Her eyes widened in wonder and an awed gasp fell from her lips just as, with a final powerful lift, the bird pushed through the strain of gravity and leveled out in a soaring glide beneath columns of pink clouds.

Suddenly a euphoric sense of giddy joy passed over her, and she let go with one hand and let her arm wave in the passing wind, the cool, cottony feel of the night mist damp through her fingers. In the rush of emotion, she leaned back against Sai's chest and laughed.

"I think I felt the same way the first time I flew too," Sai said, and Ino could hear in his voice that he was smiling.

"It's so beautiful," she responded.

Soon, though, the vivid hues faded into the black expanse of night and the chill nipped at her face. As they flew further west, the air became colder and heavy with expectant snow.

Determination soon steeled over Ino, and after they had traveled an hour, she made the hand-sign for her mind transmission jutsu, and began searching for Sakura. But when they were within fifty miles of the Fire border and she still hadn't been able to lock on to Sakura's signature, a new panic overtook her.

"I still can't sense her," Ino said, fear lacing her voice. "She must have reached the Land of Rain."

"Let me take us lower." Sai's voice was level and unworried. "We'll find her soon."

The bird began a gentle dip toward the earth, and Ino soon made out the details of the treetops and cold ground far below. Ino again squeezed her eyes shut, made the Hitsuji hand-sign, and concentrated on honing in on Sakura's unique chakra-mind signature. And then, suddenly, she finally sensed her. "There! Up ahead, thirty miles, 15 degrees, right over the border."

With a swoop, the bird pinned its wings and sped forward as Ino continued to try to make a connection with Sakura. "She won't respond. And there are six unknown chakra signatures around her." The relief that had surged in Ino only moments earlier was replaced by mounting dread at the realization that Sakura must be under attack.

"We'll be there in fifteen minutes. Can you lock on to any backup near us? What about Sasuke?"

Ino scowled. "I'll try." She didn't have much hope though. Lady Tsunade had said Sasuke was taking the Forest Road through the Land of Rivers and then into the Land of Wind and through Sunagakure toward Iron. The sensible route, Ino thought. Unfortunately, it meant he was probably hundreds of miles away. And as she had expected, after a few minutes with no luck, she gave up.

But as they crossed the Fire border, she pushed her neural net to its limits and continued the search for any recognizable mind-chakra signatures within fifty miles, despite her fear that the battle up ahead would be decided long before any backup that far could reach them. She just hoped it wouldn't be decided before she and Sai got there.

A minute later, Ino's heart almost gave out when she locked onto a familiar signature. "I've found Kakashi," Ino gasped in relief as she made a neural connection with him. "But he's 40 miles away. We have to hurry."

The bird began skimming the treetops, and Ino again devoted her concentration to connecting with Sakura. "Her signature is way too weak. She's in trouble Sai."

Sai didn't respond, but drove the hawk on even harder, and within a minute, they were diving through the canopy and toward the spot where Sakura had been pinpointed. With less than a quarter mile to go, the bird touched down with a jolt and its two passengers jumped to the ground and ran.

The sounds of a fight up ahead were now unmistakable as they raced toward Sakura's location, and Ino's stomach leapt with terror. She heard the flap of Sai's scroll unrolling as he ran beside her, and then two growling white lions took form and rose from the paper like sea-dragons billowing from the waves. As the beasts rushed ahead, their papery manes flowing in the wind, Ino heard the slide of cold steel as Sai pulled the blade at his back from its scabbard.

When they neared an icy clearing ahead, Ino finally saw Sakura, and her years of combat experience and warrior's brain instantly sized up the situation. One, two . . . four bodies were strewn around the clearing and Sakura was now facing a flaming-haired shinobi. She was covered in superficial wounds and appeared to be flagging, but the seal marks that would identify the activation of her healing jutsu were not visible. Ino could detect no other threats.

But it was the moments following that initial battlefield assessment that Ino would remember the rest of her life in terrifying slow-motion. She and Sai were still at least two hundred feet away as she watched Sakura plunge her kunai into the ribs of her opponent, and for one horrible betraying moment, Ino believed they would get there in time. But then two of the remaining nins attacked and Ino could do nothing but watch in horror as Sakura dodged a second too late, a step too slow.

To Ino, the scream that flew from her lips and rent the night sounded like it came from someone else's mouth. She ran toward Sakura, slipping on wet rocks, her heart seized with a crashing, terrifying, surging fear as she bounded toward her friend. The two enemy shinobi turned toward Ino, but she barely looked at them. She somehow knew that Sai would handle them so she could get to Sakura.

Even as she had that thought, the ink lions surged up beside her and leapt. Before the nearest enemy could even turn his eyes from Ino, a lion's teeth were at his neck. An instant later Sai reached the fray, and if the second nin had any thought of attack, it was shattered by Sai's sword at his throat.

Ino heard the snarling and the slice of steel whistling through air, but getting to Sakura was her only thought. When she reached her friend, she fell to her knees, only distantly feeling the scrape of jagged rocks through her pants. Sakura's blood ran down the rock, dripping into a sticky red pool as Ino knelt and began to stanch the flow. She poured healing chakra through her hands, wishing she had Sakura's skill, and spoke in urgent hushed tones.

"Sakura, can you hear me? Sakura!" Sakura's eyes were shut and her breathing was shallow, but she was alive. They needed a hospital. Ino turned to Sai, just in time to see a small ink falcon take to the sky.

"Let's go, we need to get out of here and back to Konoha," he said. "I sent a message to Lady Tsunade with an update. We can't lose any time."

"No, we don't have time to make it back to the village. I think there's poison involved and I can't stop the blood. The closest hospital is just on the border in the Land of Rivers, about 65 miles from here. We need to get her there _now_."

* * *

When Kakashi received Ino's update, it was as though a blade had been plunged through _his_ ribs. It happens like that sometimes. With just a word or a step, and in a single breath, the world changes. And for that breath, he was frozen with horror. But for just a breath. In the next, he was running again as though unholy furies chased him toward the hospital in River country, hoping to be intercepted by Sai but doubting even Sai's bird could carry him toward Sakura faster.

* * *

 **A/N:** I love Sakura and hated to see her this way, but this was who she was after the war and she had to hit rock bottom before she could change. I love her and am excited now to start writing the emergence of bad-ass Sakura.

Also, sorry that this chapter was so Kakashi-lite, but I am making that up to all of you starting with the very next chapter, which I hope to get up within a week! LOTS of Kakashi starting next...

Also, this story is called Love Song of the Leaf for a reason. I love music and there are so many perfect songs for Kakashi and Sakura's story. I'll give you songs at the end of each chapter for those two starting with the next one and I hope you like them. I hope their song list will have a hopeful, indie rock/folk vibe-that's what their story feels like to me.

But here's the beginning of a playlist for Sakura and Sasuke's story:

1\. (Sakura) You Won't Let Me - Rachael Yamagata

2\. (Sakura) 8 - Billie Eilish

3\. (Sasuke) Bring the Rain - Finish Ticket

4\. (Sakura) My Blood - Ellie Goulding

5\. (Sasuke) Snuff - Slipknot

I only have a few songs for Ino and Sai, as their story is developing in the background, but I think the perfect song for their beginnings is 'Falling' by Tom Speight. Check it out.

And of course for Ino's first flight with Sai, I can't help but hear the music and see that scene from How to Train Your Dragon, when Astrid first flies on Toothless. XD

Thank you for the reviews!


	6. Chapter 6 - Sakura's Tears

**Chapter 6**

 **Sakura's Tears**

* * *

When Kakashi burst through the emergency room doors of the small country hospital, he found Sai sitting in a chair along the wall of the almost deserted waiting room.

"Where is she?"

"Kakashi-sensei." Sai stood. "Through there. Room 39." He pointed to the doorway beside the nurse's desk. "But she's not . . ."

But Kakashi had dropped his pack and was through the doors before Sai could finish. His skin burned and his heart raced as he ran down the hall, terrified of what he would find. The sounds of the hospital seemed to roar in his ears. _What had Sai been about to say?_ he thought. _Ino had said she couldn't stop the bleeding. Was Sakura alright?_

Nearly skidding to a halt outside the open doorway of her room, he rushed in and had to immediately back against a wall to avoid colliding with one of the doctors. The tincture of antiseptic and the electronic wail of medical machinery accosted him as he took in the frantic scene.

Doctors and nurses surrounded the hospital bed where Sakura lay with her eyes closed and her ashen face covered by an oxygen mask. An IV trailed from one arm while a transfusion tube was inserted into the other. And blood was everywhere. It covered her, and the floor, and the gloves of the two doctors who shouted requests and vitals to each other as they operated on her stomach.

At the sight of Sakura's condition, the movement in the room seemed to slow around Kakashi and then suddenly speed up in a rush of shouting voices and beeping monitors. He wanted to do something, anything, but he knew he would only be in the way. Searching the room, he spotted Ino, who stood with the doctors at Sakura's side, her hands glowing as they hovered over her friend's ribs.

She looked up and at the sight of him, relief temporarily combined with the distress that was plain on her face. "Kakashi-sama!"

His voice was a rasp. "How is she?"

Worry etched Ino's forehead as she returned her eyes to her work. "Serious. Vitals are still unstable. Her stomach, liver, and spleen were perforated, and she's lost so much blood, but thankfully the second weapon wasn't poisoned." She reached up with her forearm to wipe the sweat from her face. "It looks like the poison was only introduced in the cut on her side."

Kakashi's eyes returned to Sakura. He needed to do something. "Have you been able to identify the poison?"

"No. The lab here doesn't have the tools to examine its makeup. I'll have to take it back to Konoha. But the poison isn't the problem." Ino's face pinched with the effort of her treatment. "It clogged her chakra pathways, but before it did, she somehow managed to flood the wound with enough to keep it from being fatal. It's her blood loss and organ damage that are serious. She's going to need more than three units of blood, and the hospital doesn't have enough that's compatible."

Finally, that was something he could do. "Take mine."

Ino looked at him in confusion. But Kakashi was already rolling up his sleeve.

"We have the same blood type," he explained. "O negative. Take mine."

At his words, the tension in Ino's face was replaced with a look of relief. A few minutes later, Kakashi was in a chair as a nurse hovered over him and inserted a needle in his arm. He didn't care if they took it all if Sakura needed it.

* * *

In the hours that followed, Kakashi lived in that all-too-familiar mental state of razor-sharp focus he usually found only in battle. The nurses had tried to usher him out of the operating room when they'd taken his blood, but after one look at his blazing eyes, they had backed off.

After that, between updates from Ino as she worked, he had watched the faces of the doctors and listened to the vital readings, and had finally realized that Sakura would be ok. Now, after two hours of surgery and another two hours to complete the blood transfusion, the anesthesia had been stopped, the ventilator removed, and the color was slowly returning to Sakura's face.

Earlier, after her condition stabilized, the doctors had left Sakura to him, Ino, and the electronic monitors, but after Ino's head had begun to droop with fatigue beside him, Kakashi had told her to go rest in the waiting area. Now, his chair pulled close to Sakura's bedside and his elbows on his knees, he rested his chin on his intertwined hands and felt his own eyes begin to close.

His thoughts had been going in circles. How had this happened? There was so much he didn't know, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had somehow failed his teammates again. He should have seen warning signs. But as exhaustion overtook his body, even his thoughts began to slow.

He might have been asleep for hours or just minutes, but the moment he heard her voice, he was jolted awake.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

* * *

Her voice sounded groggy and hoarse, and her throat burned as she spoke. Kakashi's eyes flew open as he sat up, and even with the mask covering the bottom half of his face, she could see his worry.

"What . . . what happened? Where am I?" As consciousness came to her, so did her awareness of the discomfort that radiated through almost every part of her body. She tried to sit up but her arms shook with weakness, and a bolt of pain shot from her midsection.

"You're in a hospital in the Land of Rivers," Kakashi answered, his voice taking on that matter-of-fact tone she was so used to hearing. "But you're alright. Don't try to sit up. You were injured in a fight in the Land of Rain and you've had surgery. You just need to rest."

"Rivers? I've had surgery?" Her brain felt drowsy and befuddled as she tried to remember. "Have I been under anesthesia?"

"Ino said you'd feel a bit confused when it wore off," Kakashi said. "And it's now my turn to tell you what you've told me all these years. You need to rest—don't try to do too much yet."

She turned her face to the gray hospital ceiling and tried to put her thoughts in order, but her brain wouldn't work and everything seemed a jumbled haze. _Surgery?_ Somehow she couldn't process it, and the beeping of the monitor near her bed seemed loud in her ears. Closing her eyes in a useless attempt to block out the noise, she tried again to make sense of her situation.

And then, in a horrified rush, it all came back to her. The confrontation with the Rain nin, the poison, Sasuke. As her hand went to her stomach and felt the fresh bandages there, she heard Sasuke's words in her mind with all the shock and pain she'd felt the first time he'd spoken them. He didn't love her. He never had and he never would. She saw the cold set of his face, the absolute lack of emotion. It couldn't be true. A feel of nausea came over her at the memory, and sudden tears sprung to her eyes and fell down her cheeks.

"Sakura . . ." Kakashi's voice was low.

Her own voice came out barely above a whisper. "How did I get here?"

"Ino and Sai got to you in time and brought you here."

Sakura stared at the ceiling, blurry through her tears, and thought back to the hastily scribbled letter she had left on the kitchen counter before she left. It must have been Ino's voice she heard right before she had collapsed in that muddy forest clearing.

Turning back to Kakashi, she met his steady gaze through her haze of shock and grief. "But how. . .why are you here? I thought you were still in Suna."

"When I heard you were hurt, I came here." She could see the lines of worry and fatigue around his eyes. "Raindrops or spears, Sakura. Remember?"

When he repeated the words she had said to him at the gates of Konoha weeks before, her throat constricted with emotion. As a kid, the phrase had been something she'd always heard her mom say to her dad before his missions. That he had nothing to fear because if he were hurt, she'd get to him whether raindrops or spears were falling from the sky. "Thank you for being here."

"It was nothing," he said, waving off the gratitude. "I don't mind hospitals as long as I'm not the one being treated." He then reached for a cup that sat on the table next to her bed and handed it to her. "Take this. You're probably thirsty after everything."

She wiped her eyes and gratefully took the cup. The water felt good against her parched throat. As she drank, Kakashi leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his unruly hair before letting his hand drop to his lap. He looked so tired. How long had she been out? Had he stayed awake the whole time? "That's a lie," she said. "I know you hate hospitals no matter what the reason."

"No, no. You're wrong," Kakashi replied, the corners of his eyes giving away the smile beneath his mask. "I only hate the Leaf hospital, because all the medic-nins there are strict and won't let me do anything. The nurses here are actually quite friendly."

Sakura's lips curved weakly and she took another sip of water. "They just don't know you yet. Give them time."

"Ah, maybe you're right," Kakashi chuckled. "I suppose I won't give up on the Leaf medic-nins just yet then."

Letting her breath out in a wobbly sigh, Sakura fought the storm of thoughts and the pressure building again behind her eyes. "Do you know how long they're keeping me here?"

"A few days. Maybe less. Ino thinks you'll be able to heal the incisions from surgery pretty quickly now that your chakra pathways are opened."

At his words, she sent a few experimental bursts of chakra toward her wounds but the discomfort made her stop. Kakashi must have seen the grimace on her face, because his next words took on a warning tone. "But don't push yourself."

"What have you learned about those Rain nin?" Sakura asked after a few moments, taking a deep steadying breath to calm her nerves. "They might be part of that group you were tracking. They seemed to have some kind of personal grudge against the great nations."

"All I know is what Ino and Sai were able to get from the scene. Apparently you took out five, and Sai took out two more. One escaped."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Which one?"

"He had blue hair, and Sai thinks he might have been wearing clothes similar to one of the Kirigakure clans."

"He was the leader, I'm sure of it," she said with a shaky breath, remembering the malevolence in the nin's eyes. "Someone has to go back, before he returns for the bodies."

"Updates have been sent to Konoha. It's in Lady Tsunade's hands."

"No. We should go." Her voice was agitated as she tried to sit up. "At least you and Sai and Ino. By the time another team from Konoha gets out there, all the evidence will be gone."

"I'm sure the bodies are already long gone. Sai was able to gather some information from the scene, don't worry."

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. _No matter how hard I try, I'm never strong enough_ , she thought.

"Sakura, look at me." Kakashi leaned forward as she opened her eyes. "Stop whatever you're thinking. Thanks to you, there are seven fewer enemy-nin out there, and we have a better idea of where they're operating in Rain."

His gray eyes held hers, and the destructive thoughts that had been swirling in her brain faded a bit. She nodded.

"Good," he said, his voice suddenly cheerful as he stood. "I'll get Ino and Sai. I know they'll want to see you."

"Are you leaving?"

"No, I'll be back in a few minutes," he said, his eyes amused. "But I am counting on you to heal up quick. You know I hate hospitals."

* * *

When Kakashi reached the waiting room, he found the two younger ninja sleeping, Ino's head on Sai's shoulder and Sai's resting against the wall. With a raised eyebrow, he gave Sai's boot a kick. Both jumped and were jolted immediately awake, and after telling them that Sakura was waiting for them, Kakashi headed outside.

Once in the crisp outdoor air, he reached into his thigh holster and slid his thumb along the tip of a kunai, causing the blood to flow. He then quickly made the hand signs for his summons and, reaching to the ground, placed the seal at his feet. In an instant, Pakkun appeared. "What's up boss? How is the girlie?" the little pug asked.

"Pakkun." And as if he could no longer carry the weight that he had borne, Kakashi sank to his knees before the dog.

"Has something happened to Sakura?!" Pakkun asked, straightening up on all four legs, his gruff voice now alarmed.

"No, she's going to be fine. Let the Hokage know." The back of Kakashi's throat was tight and his chest constricted with the sudden swelling pressure of intense relief. The beams of afternoon sun filtering through the canopy of leafless trees warmed his face, and he exhaled. Pakkun sat, and smiled a doggy smile, and didn't ask for any more explanation before he poofed out of sight.

* * *

That evening, Sakura was moved to an upstairs room to complete her recovery, and after the others had left her for the night, she sat awake, sometimes crying and sometimes numb, until the chill December night reluctantly gave way to the pearls and grays of a winter morning. Through her window, the world appeared to be blanketed in a profound hush and the spindly frost-covered trees were still against the gray sky.

When Ino walked into her room later in the morning, Sakura was still sitting by the window, her cheek flushed against the cool pane, every breath leaving a crystallized mist of condensation on the window.

"Have you been there all night?" Ino asked, and to Sakura, her voice sounded disapproving and annoyed.

Sakura closed her eyes. "Ino," she said in a desperately calm voice. "Please don't ask me questions. If you're going to interrogate me again, just leave."

"Interrogate you?" Ino asked, her voice rising with every word. "What are you talking about? Just because I want to know what happened?! You owe me that at least, considering Sai and I could have been killed coming to get you." But when Sakura broke down again, her body heaving with uncontrolled sobs, Ino walked quickly to her and knelt at her side. "I'm your friend, Sakura, and all I want to do is help you get through this."

"What for?"

"What do you mean what for?" Ino's words were incredulous. "For yourself. If not for that, then for the Leaf hospital, and the people of the village you've sworn to help."

"You and Shizune have the hospital under control. I'm not needed there. What's the point?"

"Damnit Sakura, snap out of it!"

"It's easy for you to say." Sakura's face was blotchy and red. "You're happy."

"I've lost people too. And those people can't come back."

Sakura felt a twinge of guilt and shame at Ino's words and immediately turned toward her friend. "I'm sorry, Ino. I know you're trying to help. It's just that this hurts . . . and it's pretty clear the person you love feels the same way about you."

"I don't know about that," Ino said softly. "But it doesn't matter. And anyway, so what if I don't know exactly what you're feeling? I'm here for you. All your friends are." She paused, and then went on. "What would you say to me if I was in your situation? Would you let me just sit there and cry?"

Sakura rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. "No, I guess not," she answered reluctantly. "I'd probably say 'get up' and we'd go kill him."

"See? And you know I'm not good at this. Normally I'd just insult you and you'd break something and we'd call it a day."

"Yeah," Sakura fought back a fresh wave of tears. "But I feel . . . I thought we'd be together, you know. Me and Sasuke."

"I wish for your sake this hadn't happened. But if it had to happen, it's better now than later, don't you think? It would have been so much worse if he had left you in hope. Think about how much more you would have suffered if he had waited until months or years more had gone by with you refusing to look at anyone else, or live your life. But now it's over." Ino nodded to emphasize the word. "Now you can finally find who you deserve in life."

Ino really wasn't good at this. When she said it was over, Sakura couldn't keep the tears at bay, and they seemed more intense than before. "I would rather have hope over this. There won't ever be anyone else but him for me."

Ino scoffed. "Stop being so melodramatic. I can list nine guys right now who are better for you than him."

"Like who?" Sakura flashed a scornful glance at Ino. "Choji? Kiba?"

"Yeah, actually," Ino retorted, her voice stern. "Kiba or Choji are definitely better for you than he is. But you know I don't have anyone specific in mind. I'm not trying to fix you up with someone. But I know for sure there's someone out there better for you who will treat you the way you deserve to be treated."

Ino really had no idea, Sakura thought. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again, and turned away. She felt exhausted. "I thought he loved me," she finally said, her face turned toward the window.

"He's a liar Sakura."

"No. Don't say that. He never lied to me. It's not like he ever told me he loved me. I just thought. . . But he's not the bad person you seem to think he is."

"Didn't lie to you?" Ino cried. "What are talking about? I don't care what he said or didn't say. He made you think he wanted to be with you, and then said he never felt anything for you. How is that not lying?"

"Stop it, Ino." Sakura's eyes flashed. "He's not a monster. I should have never pushed things. . . I'm the one who's to blame."

"What?! Where are you in there?" Ino stood, and hovered over her friend. "If you don't stop, I swear I'll mind transfer into your head to knock some sense back into you."

Without looking up, Sakura spoke softly, "I lived all those years hanging on the words he said to me when he first left the village. And now I feel so weak, like I have nothing to look forward to."

"You do realize that you're one of the strongest shinobi in the world, man or woman, right?" Ino asked, her voice taking on an arch tone. Sakura remained silent, and Ino sighed. "He probably does care in his warped, self-centered way," she finally said. "But he's not capable of more. He can't love you the way you want, and certainly not the way you deserve. Maybe none of them can, after the things they've seen and done. They're not as strong as us, you know. I think guys have to block out the human parts of themselves in order to survive."

"Not all of them," Sakura said. "Naruto is still the same loving person, after everything he's seen and done."

"You're really using Naruto as the model sample here?" Ino raised an eyebrow. "First, nobody is like Naruto, but the fact that he has a rampaging house-sized chakra beast living inside of him disqualifies him from the running, don't you think?"

Sakura finally showed the hint of a smile. "Yeah, maybe."

"I bet you my entire year's pay that you couldn't name one other guy in our village who's able to still love like a normal human being though," Ino challenged.

Sakura thought for a second. "Lee."

Ino groaned. "How could I forget Rock Lee? But he doesn't count."

"No, you lost. Hand your money over," Sakura stretched out her hand, palm up. "At least now I'll be able to afford new clothes and a lot of ice cream to drown my misery in."

"Not a chance!" Ino smirked. "And you certainly couldn't name another!"

Sakura though of Ino's old sensei, who had given his life in the fight against the Akatsuki. "Asuma-sensei."

At that, Ino smiled sadly. "Well," she replied, "maybe it's just the guys you and I fall for who aren't human anymore."

Sakura sighed. "Yeah." But then her eyes twinkled. "Although I think there's a possibility that Sai was never human to begin with."

Ino laughed. "That's for sure." And then wrapping her arms around her friend, she gave her a tight hug. "I know it hurts, and it really sucks. But trust me, it's going to be ok."

* * *

Two days later, Sakura stood beside Kakashi on the hospital lawn, and shielded her eyes against the sun as she watched Ino and Sai fly away on Sai's giant paper bird. She hadn't been lying when she told them her stomach wasn't 100% healed yet and that she'd rather return by foot because flying would just make her feel sick. But really, she only wanted to delay her arrival in Konoha for as long as possible. The longer she could put off the inevitable meeting with Tsunade, the better.

When their friends were no more than a distant dot in the sky, Kakashi turned to her. "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." She hefted her pack onto her shoulders. "But do you mind if we walk at first? I'm not feeling too well and . . ."

"Save it," Kakashi interrupted, and when she looked up at him, she could see the humor in his eyes. "You don't think I know you after all these years?"

Sakura felt the blush bloom on her cheeks. "What do you mean?"

"I know you're afraid of the Hokage." She could tell he was smiling as he lifted his own pack onto his shoulders. "It's understandable. You're right to be afraid."

"Kakashi-sensei!" She groaned and smacked his arm.

He only chuckled. "Come on, let's go. And yes, we can walk."

"Thanks," she said, and they set out on the long road back home. They were only about twenty miles from the Fire border, and even at a walk could make it there in a day, but they were still almost three hundred miles from Konoha. If she had her way, they'd walk the entire way.

As they passed through the hilly landscape of the Land of Rivers, sometimes they were comfortably silent and sometimes they talked. Kakashi told her about his mission in Iron and about how the Kazekage and his family were doing, and Sakura went through the motions and told him about the progress of the villagers after the war, and the hospital, and the latest silly things Naruto had learned.

Neither of them mentioned Sasuke, and Sakura tried to be cheerful, but thoughts of him hung over her like a cloud. She began to wonder if Kakashi sensed the darkness of her thoughts because he kept the conversation going as much as possible, and the hours passed until the sun began to dip toward the horizon.

"Ready to make camp?" Kakashi asked when they had crossed the border and the land had begun to level off.

"Yeah, that's fine." Sakura said, and dropped her pack. "I'll start the fire."

Later, after a dinner a hundred times better than anything she had eaten in the hospital, they sat together while Sakura absently poked at the embers of the fire with a long stick.

"So how long do you want to stretch this trip out for?" Kakashi asked. "If you want to keep walking, that's fine, but we will get there eventually."

Sakura stared into the orange flames and tried to follow the leaping sparks with her eyes as they disappeared into the night air above the fire.

"I know. We can start traveling normally tomorrow. It really is silly to delay it." She then glanced over at Kakashi. "But thanks for offering to walk."

"Sure."

She poked at the fire for a few more minutes while they sat in silence. She hadn't yet talked to him about why she had followed Sasuke or what had happened between them. If he knew anything, it was only what he had been told by Ino or Sai, but she doubted they had said much either. "I was such an idiot," she finally said, her voice soft.

"You certainly were," Kakashi replied. "Don't forget it." She looked over at him again, and he met her eyes. "We've all done things we regret, Sakura. And sometimes they don't turn out as lucky in the end as this one did. But remember, we don't get stronger when things go smoothly."

"Have _you_ ever done anything you regret?" She searched his eyes, and for a moment she saw a sadness in them she had never noticed before. But then their corners crinkled slightly as he smiled.

"Many, many things."

But he didn't elaborate, and Sakura raised her eyebrows. "And I suppose you'll tell me what those are someday in the future, huh?"

"Well, some of it _is_ classified," Kakashi said.

"Whatever." Sakura smirked, and flicked a piece of bark from her stick at him. "Classified, yeah right."

His dark gray eyes betrayed the widening smile beneath his mask. "But I have to admit, I think you've taken the prize. How did it feel being a missing nin for a night?"

Sakura's eyes widened. "I was not a missing nin!" Her voice rose in surprised affront.

"No?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her.

"No!" With an attempt at defiance, she stood and began laying out her bedroll. _Rogue ninja? He's crazy_ , Sakura thought. But the more she thought about it, the more she worried. And as she sat atop the now spread-out bedroll, she frowned. She _was_ in the service of the Hokage. And she _had_ departed the village without authorization. With a sinking feeling, she closed her eyes and groaned. She heard Kakashi chuckle from his seat by the fire.

Turning to him, she was sure the alarm was plain on her face. "I can't go back." She then glanced around. "We're not too far from that hospital. I think I'll go work there. They looked like they could use a good medic-nin. Tell Lady Tsunade I didn't survive our trip home."

Kakashi's eyes were amused. "Don't you think I have a duty to tell the Hokage the truth?"

"No," Sakura said. "You've known me longer than her."

"How do you figure that?" Kakashi asked, eyebrow raised again.

"Didn't she leave the village when you were just a kid? So you've known me more years than you've actually known her."

"Alright, maybe so, but I've known Konoha longer than you."

"You're the Sixth Hokage," she insisted. "You can pardon me. I'm sure you owe me a favor for something or other."

"I'm sure I do." Kakashi chuckled again at her discomfort. "But you'll be fine. I won't let her kill you."

"Ha ha, thanks a lot." Sakura rolled her eyes. Then, thinking of how irate Tsunade really was going to be, she moaned. "Lady Tsunade is going to be so angry."

"Well, let me know if you want to walk another day," Kakashi said. "It'll give her time to cool off."

"I don't think we have enough provisions to last for as long as we'd need to wait out her temper," Sakura groaned as she fell back onto her bedroll.

But despite her worries, when the sun rose the next morning, she agreed to travel at their normal pace. If she had been fully healed, they could have made the rest of the journey that day, but they were still able to cover enough ground that they only needed one more night on the road.

As she lay beneath the moon that night, still awake hours after they had camped and ate, her thoughts strayed back to Sasuke, to that morning at his campsite, to the frozen look on his face when he said he would never love her. Closing her eyes to the impervious sky, she turned on her side and curled beneath the cover of her bedroll. She couldn't imagine ever being able to forget that expression.

Mornings were bad, because there was always that first moment upon waking when she could believe that none of it had happened, before the memories all flooded back to her. But nights were the worst. There was nothing to do but think about it, over and over, and rehash all the ways it could have turned out differently. She could barely remember what it felt like to believe he loved her. All she felt now was utterly alone. If only she had never followed him, she kept telling herself; then he might still care for her.

She tried to keep her tears from falling, which turned out to be impossible, and all she could do in the end was try to keep as silent as possible as she wept. But a minute later, she heard Kakashi's voice.

"Hey," he said softly.

She rolled around to her other side and saw that he was propped up on his forearm on his own bedroll, a few feet away. "I'm sorry I woke you," she said, wiping her eyes.

"I wasn't sleeping," he reassured her, his voice gentle and his eyes steady. "I know we're close to the village, but I don't think I'll ever get out of the habit of keeping watch when we're on the road."

Sakura only sniffed. She hated that he kept seeing her this way. She had insisted she was no longer that love-sick twelve year-old, but here she was, crying over Sasuke again.

"Sakura, it's alright," he then said, and his gray eyes seemed to hold her in place. "You will never be alone in this." And at the tender reassurance, she could no longer hold back the sobs.

* * *

The next morning, she woke to the smells of breakfast being cooked. She quickly stood, and after getting ready for the day, went to join Kakashi by the fire. After their 'good mornings,' they ate in comfortable silence, and then packed up their campsite and readied to leave.

"Do you know what today is?" he asked, as he put the last of the fire out.

She looked at him quizzically. "No, what is it?"

"January first."

"Oh!" And then a small smile curved her lips. "Happy New Year, Kakashi-sensei."

"Happy New Year, Sakura." The corners of his eyes showed his own smile. "Let's go home."

* * *

To be continued.

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you liked it.

I feel terrible for Sakura but I have the feeling she'll be getting some irresistible help with her heartbreak in the upcoming chapters.

Also, Kakashi and Sakura's blood type actually is the same, according to Kishimoto. Crazy, huh?

And like I promised, here are the songs that begin Kakashi and Sakura's soundtrack:

1\. (Kakashi) I Have Made Mistakes – The Oh Hellos

2\. (Sakura) You don't know – Katelyn Tarver

3\. (Kakashi) We're On Our Way - Radical Face (acoustic version-as far as I know, it's only available on the band's youtube channel)

4\. (Kakashi) Live Forever - Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

For Sakura and Sasuke this chapter:

1\. (Sakura) War of Hearts - Ruelle

2\. (Sasuke) The Light Behind Your Eyes - My Chemical Romance

3\. (Sakura) My Heart's Grave - Faouzia

Thank you so much for the reviews-they teach me, make me better, and really keep me motivated!


	7. Chapter 7 - Sakura's Resolve

**Chapter 7**

 **Sakura's Resolve**

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Tsunade's voice bellowed with rage before her office door had fully closed.

Sakura winced. "I . . ."

"I took you under my charge years ago only to be repaid like this?" The volume of her words increased as she came around to the front of her desk, her blond pony-tails trailing behind her as if her fury generated its own whirlwind.

"I'm sorry, Shishou," Sakura began, knowing as the words left her mouth that they were woefully insufficient. "The last thing I wanted was to let you down. I'll do anything to make it up to you."

"I still can't understand what you were thinking. We're in the middle of trying to finalize the terms of the Shinobi Union, there's now this rogue group starting havoc in more than one of the middle countries, and my own apprentice deserts the village!"

"That wasn't my intention!" Sakura exclaimed, remembering Kakashi's words. "I didn't even think of it like that."

Tsunade crossed her arms, her lips a hard line, and at the look of disappointment in her eyes, Sakura felt a pang of shame and misery. That look was worse than any other punishment that could have been doled out, and she almost wished the Hokage had thrown a chair out the window or broken the desk, or done either of those things to her, rather than reveal how much Sakura had failed her expectations.

Sakura's cheeks burned and she turned them from Tsunade's glare. "I was only trying to help Sasuke. I thought he needed help on his mission. I thought he needed . . . " She let her voice trail off. The idea that Sasuke needed her seemed so stupid and laughable now, in the harsh light of reality.

"If I wanted you on that mission, I would have assigned it to you." Every word out of Tsunade's voice was heavy with barely contained rage as she paced back to her desk. "And Sasuke can take care of himself."

"Yes," Sakura said, her voice low and bitter, and breaking a bit on her next words. "Apparently he can."

But the Hokage ignored her student's distress and angrily shuffled papers around her desk as she looked for something. After a moment, she seized a scroll from the pile, and raised her eyes to Sakura again. "You're damn lucky I want to keep this incident classified, because I wouldn't hesitate to strip you of your rank and make you work your way up from Genin again. But don't think you won't be punished."

"I understand." Sakura met Tsunade's eyes and wondered what punishment could possibly be worse than the heartache she already felt. Whatever it was, she didn't care. She would do all the janitorial work in the hospital, or take the mind-numbing transport missions that had been coming in to the village, or accept whatever other fate the Hokage felt she deserved. She wouldn't have even cared if she had been demoted back to Genin.

"First, you will not be promoted to Jōnin this month as I had planned to do, and you will be ineligible for that promotion for at least two years."

"I understand." Sakura said again. Without that promotion, she wouldn't get her raise and she'd certainly have no chance of getting the upcoming Director position at the hospital, but really, what was the point of any of that now?

Tsunade's eyes blazed.

"Further, you will be assigned a mission, in addition to your current duties at the hospital," Tsunade went on, and handed the scroll to Sakura. "From Mondays through Fridays, you'll now be teaching medical ninjutsu at the academy. Starting next week when the winter break ends. The details are in there."

"What?!" Sakura couldn't contain her surprised response.

"Ah, I see that got the response I expected out of you. I want each Genin class going forward to have at least basic knowledge of medical ninjutsu and first aid. If I remember right, you were once the main proponent of that goal."

"But surely Shizune would be a better choice for the teaching part of it," Sakura said, dismayed.

"I can't spare Shizune. And besides, she's not the one who deserted her village to run after a boy."

Sakura's face flushed with anger and embarrassment. "How am I supposed to do that and my duties at the hospital? And I've never even taught!" She imagined Konohamaru and all the trouble he and his teammates had gotten into over the years multiplied by a hundred. And that led her to another thought, and she groaned. "And how do you expect me to teach Naruto!?"

At this, Sakura saw the beginning of a smirk forming on Tsunade's face. "I'm sure you'll surprise yourself. And you _will_ teach Naruto, and every other academy student, without complaint, or I'll extend the ban on your promotion. Also, you'll have plenty of time for the hospital, because you'll be working the evening shifts there once school starts up."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest again, but thought better of it and instead simply closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Yes, Shishou."

"I could have lost you out there, Sakura. Don't you know how necessary you are here? Don't ever do something so stupid and reckless again."

Sakura opened her eyes and could now see the worry in Tsunade's face. After everything she'd done over the years to catch up to Naruto and Sasuke, here she was again, a burden to everyone she cared about. She had to make it up to them. "I know I've disappointed everyone. I'll work hard not to let it happen again."

"Don't disappoint yourself," Tsunade said. "That's all you need to do."

* * *

Sakura woke with a gasp, tangled in her sheets and soaked with sweat. Heart pounding, it took a few moments to realize she was lying in the quiet warmth of her room and not on the damp, muddy forest floor of Rain country with a blue-haired enemy standing above her.

Soft light filtered under her bedroom door and a glance at the clock told her it was only two in the morning. Sitting up with a steadying breath, she pulled on a robe and shuffled out to the living room, where she found Ino sitting cross-legged on the couch with a notebook in her lap.

"Hey," Sakura said, her voice dispirited as she walked over and sank down next to her friend. "What are you doing up?"

"I have to finish this mission report," Ino answered, looking up. "What about you?"

"I can't sleep." Sakura slouched against the back of the couch.

Ino closed the notebook and tossed it on the coffee table. "Can't sleep, or you had another nightmare?"

"Can't sleep," she lied.

From the way Ino stared back at her, it was apparent she didn't buy it, but to Sakura's relief, she let it go. "Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here."

"Thanks, but what is there to talk about? I'm tired of crying and I already know I need to move on. Besides, it always leads to a fight with you."

"It doesn't _always_ lead to a fight." Ino said indignantly. "At least, not when you don't say something stupid."

Sakura managed a weak smile. "See?"

"And the problem is you don't want to move on. Despite what he told you, you still want to find some kind of rationalization for it. You still want to believe he'll come back and say he was wrong."

"That's _not_ true," Sakura said, but she couldn't muster much enthusiasm in her denial. "Give me a little bit of credit, won't you?"

"Can you honestly tell me that if he walked through that door right now and begged at your feet, you'd turn him away?"

Would she? Sakura wondered. She wished he _would_ plead for her forgiveness, just so she could look down on him with scorn and tell him it was too late, before turning on her heel and never looking back. The thought of it gave her a trivial satisfaction, but she knew it would never happen.

And who was she kidding anyway? As much as she told herself she'd turn him away, she doubted she could. After all, she'd loved him since they were six years old. "It doesn't matter anyway," she said. "It won't happen."

"I hope not, because I'd have to kill him before he made it halfway through the door," Ino commented, in the same resigned tone she'd used to complain that she had to finish her mission report.

Sakura's lips twitched and she raised her eyebrows.

"What?" Ino countered. "You think a measly Rinnegan is any match for a pissed off best friend?"

With a fragile smile, Sakura said, "Well, maybe I _would_ put my money on you in that fight."

Ino smiled sweetly back at her. "Anyway, all you need is time and some good distractions. And honestly, all this will make you stronger."

"Why? Because it didn't kill me? I'm tired of hearing that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. No, you know what really happens? What doesn't kill you just weakens you for the next time, or causes you to become completely maladjusted."

This time it was Ino who raised an eyebrow. "Wow, pessimistic much? Although, I guess I'm not surprised you'd see things that way sometimes. I mean, look at your teammates. I wouldn't exactly call them the most well-adjusted group of people I've ever met." She leveled a stare at Sakura. "But seriously, you're wrong about this not making you stronger. And when you realize it, I'll be there to say 'I told you so.'"

"As any best friend would, of course." Sakura rolled her eyes.

Ino's eyes sparkled with mischief now. "Anyway, like I was saying, you just need to take your mind off everything."

Sakura sighed. "I know. I was thinking the same thing. I just need to focus on work."

"Work? That's what you think of when you think distraction?" Ino shook her head. "No, I mean a _distraction_." When Sakura only looked at her skeptically, she huffed. "You know, of the _male_ kind?"

"Oh my gods, Ino, are you serious? The last thing I want right now is to think about guys. Besides, Lady Tsunade is this close to demoting me. Don't you think I should focus on the hospital and the academy?"

"Sure, but you can do that _and_ meet guys too. And you _know_ , the best way to get over one guy is to get under anot. . ."

"Don't even say it!" Sakura interrupted her and shoved her in the shoulder.

Ino laughed. "Fine, don't take my advice."

" _You_ wouldn't even take your advice!"

"Why wouldn't I?" Ino asked. "But no matter what, I'm not letting you stay cooped up here. Every time I go out, you're coming with me."

"Fine, whatever," Sakura responded, closing her eyes as she leaned back against the couch again. As busy as they were, there was little chance Ino would find the time to force a string of blind dates on her anyway. And she supposed going out with her friends every now and then probably would be a good distraction.

"Good," Ino said definitively, and reached for her mission notebook.

* * *

Sakura stood in the lobby of the Leaf Hospital at the end of her shift that afternoon and scanned the documents in her hand. The words on the pages blurred as her mind wandered back through the turmoil of her memories, and she took a deep steadying breath to keep the tears back.

"From the numbers here, it's clear the patients with non-physical complaints are overwhelmingly children." At the sound of the voice, Sakura brought her attention back to the young medic-nin who stood before her, his face flushed as he made his report.

"So the data backs up what I suspected." Sakura's mind was still foggy as she handed the charts back to him. "Thank you for bringing these to me. Can you pass them on to the Hokage?"

With a sigh, she then turned to leave, and saw Kakashi leaning against the wall near the front desk, the picture of relaxed indifference. When he saw her approaching, he pushed off the wall and walked toward her.

"What's wrong?" She searched him for any obvious signs of injury. "Are you hurt?"

"If I were injured, do you think I'd be anywhere near here?"

"Oh yeah, you'd be bleeding on my doorstep, wouldn't you?" Sakura said with the barest hint of a smile. "So what's going on?"

"A mission came in, and it calls for a medic. We leave now, if you want to take it."

"Now?!" Her voice rose in astonishment. "But we just got back two days ago! And what if I have plans?"

" _Do_ you have plans?" He raised an eyebrow skeptically at her.

Sakura frowned at him. Yes, she did have plans, for his information. Maybe they were plans to go home and be miserable and maybe cry and eat a ton of ice cream, but they were still plans. "No," she finally said, crossing her arms.

"Good, so now you do. If you want them, that is."

She huffed audibly. "You know I'll go, but you'll have to wait for me to go home and change and get my pack. I don't have anything here."

"No, you don't need anything but yourself for this one. We'll be back before ten tonight."

"Before ten?" She looked at the clock on the wall. "It's past 4:00."

He turned toward the doors. "Think of it as a mini-mission. I'll brief you on the way."

This time Sakura lifted an eyebrow as she fell in step beside him. But then she remembered the Hokage's ire and hesitated. "And Lady Tsunade knows about this so-called mini-mission?"

"Oh, now we're making sure all missions are authorized, are we?" He glanced down at her, his eyes amused. She only scowled. "Yes, she knows. I was in her office when it came in."

"Ok, ok. Let's go," she mumbled.

Once outside the village gates, they headed north at a sprint. "It won't take more than a half hour to get there," Kakashi said. "It's the mining village near the waterfall. There was a rock-fall this morning, and there have been a number of broken bones."

"Just broken bones? Their civilian doctor should be able to treat those." Sakura was puzzled. "If they're sending for help, there must be other injuries."

"Apparently, their local doctor was on the scene but it's more than he can handle, so they sent for a medical nin. But based on the mission request, I don't believe there are any critical injuries."

Sakura silently lamented the shortage of shinobi doctors in the smaller towns. During the war preparations, when she and the other medical staff had been stretched so thin, she'd dreamed of one day implementing a program to get at least one doctor trained in medical ninjutsu in every village. But then Sasuke had come home and she hadn't thought about much other than him. She now sighed into the wind and pushed him from her thoughts.

"How was your first day back at work?" Kakashi asked, breaking the silence. "Lady Tsunade didn't have you doing anything too miserable, I'm sure."

"After telling me I have to teach at the academy, I don't think there's anything worse she could come up with." Sakura grimaced at the thought. But she didn't expect any sympathy from Kakashi, who had almost let out a rare laugh when she'd told him about it yesterday. Beside her now, she heard him chuckle again. "You don't have to enjoy my misery so much." She glared at him.

"I think you'll end up liking it." The amusement was gone from his voice, but Sakura was sure there was still a smile beneath his mask. "Besides, you've always said you wanted more kids to learn medical ninjutsu. Here's your chance."

"I know." She _had_ always wanted that. She had wanted to change a lot about the medical practices in Konoha and the rest of the country. "I wanted a lot of things." Now, pushing off a tree branch with a burst of chakra, she wondered if she would ever muster the enthusiasm for all of it again. "I actually received a report as I was leaving today about another project I'd been thinking about before."

"Was that what you were talking about with the medic-nin in the lobby earlier?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah," Sakura said.

"He looked pretty nervous. One more minute, and I think he would have fainted. I felt sorry for the kid."

"He's a trainee at the hospital. I think he's just not used to giving reports yet."

"I'm sure that was part of it," Kakashi mused.

She looked at him again, the wind whipping through her pink locks, and wondered if he would think her idea was stupid. She hadn't told anyone of her inkling of a plan and until she'd seen the report earlier, she'd even stopped thinking about it herself.

"I asked him to look into the types of patients and medical complaints that have been coming in since the war," she began, hesitatingly.

"Are you looking for something specific?"

"Right after the war, everyone I treated had physical injuries, and I thought things at the hospital would slow down after they healed, but they haven't. If anything, even more people are coming in every day and most don't have injuries at all; just non-specific complaints of pain or poor health. And it's always the same-there's nothing physically wrong with them. Instead, it's the trauma and psychological effects of the war finally hitting them.

And then Kurenai-sensei brought her daughter in, and I couldn't get the thought out of my head about all the children who'd been left in the village during the war. They must be suffering too."

Kakashi looked thoughtful as she spoke, but didn't say anything.

"Most of the pediatric cases don't come to me though, so I asked for actual numbers. I was sure there had to be so many children experiencing problems stemming from being alone and seeing their village in ruins, and then being paralyzed and captive to the ten-tails tree. If I was right, I knew I couldn't leave them like that." She frowned.

"Anyway, I was right about the numbers," she went on. "I guess it would be better if I wasn't, but it turns out that most of the patients coming in recently with mental trauma are children."

"So what do you want to do with this information?"

Sakura met his eyes again. It wasn't an understatement to say that her idea was a bit radical. After all, the Shinobi Rules had been drilled into young academy students from almost as soon as they could read, and more than a few stressed the utmost importance of hiding emotions.

She thought back to her own academy days. Rule 25: A shinobi must never show their tears. Rule 29: A shinobi must never show any weakness. And on and on. And Kakashi was soon to be the person in charge of making sure the rules were enforced by everyone else.

Of course, it wasn't like they hadn't been broken on countless occasions. Even Kakashi would put his comrades before the rules, and in the time she had known him, he'd never been someone to take too rigid a stance on things. And maybe that was the point. Some of the rules were impossible to follow. "I think there should be a department in the hospital to provide care for children's mental health," she finally began.

Her expression took on an almost defiant look as she spoke. "I think it's stupid that we're taught as children to hide our emotions. All it leads to is shame when we can't, and hatred or blame when we can. Look at Gaara and Sai, and so many others who had all this terrible childhood trauma and never had help. And look at Naruto, who never hid anything, and all the good that emotion was able to do in the end."

Finishing with a rush, she said, "Maybe the upper ranks will think I'm crazy, but I think Konoha can lead the way on this. I think some kind of program where children can talk out their issues and get therapy will only make our village and shinobi ranks stronger."

Kakashi didn't immediately comment, and Sakura felt another twinge of nerves. "You think it's . . ." she began.

But he spoke at the same time before she could finish. "I think it's a good idea."

"What?"

"I think it's a good idea," he repeated, and she could hear the sincerity in his voice.

"You do?"

"I do. And I think Lady Tsunade will agree. _You_ should be the one to take the lead on it."

Sakura turned her face toward the wind. But after a moment, she glanced at him again. "And what about the Shinobi Rules that say we should hide our emotions?"

"They have a time and place in battle," he said as he sailed through the trees beside her. "But maybe it's time we rethink a few of them. There's no virtue in doing things the way they've always been done if a better way comes around."

And when his eyes met hers, she was surprised to feel some of the jittery enthusiasm that had coursed through her when she'd first dreamed up the crazy plan, and that she hadn't thought she'd feel about anything again, after Sasuke. At that moment, she was almost ready to launch into a full description of her ideas, but only a few moments more brought them to the mining village, and she was forced to leave off as they slowed and dropped to a walk.

After a rushed greeting, the village elder and the doctor ushered them down a cramped dusty lane lined with squat houses. Sakura could see a small crowd of people in the distance, and within a minute, she and Kakashi had reached the building where the group had gathered.

It was a narrow mud-colored house like all the rest, with peeling paint and a few rickety chairs against the outer wall, and Sakura was dismayed to learn it was the town's hospital. Once inside, she saw that it was really nothing more than a few rooms at the back of the doctor's house.

"Thankfully, the injuries were limited to broken bones," the doctor was saying. "And I was able to set most of them. But you'll see there is one case here that we're simply not equipped to handle." He looked to her, his face mingled with pride and growing concern.

Sakura listened as she scrubbed in and was led to one of the rooms, where a small boy, no more than five or six years old, was cradled unconscious in the arms of a woman Sakura learned was his mother.

"Can you help him?" the woman asked through her sobs.

"I'm going to try," Sakura answered, doing a quick assessment. The injury looked grisly. It was a severe compound fracture of the tibia and fibula, and the end of the fibula had torn through the boy's skin, exposing the bone and internal tissues.

The break itself would be easy to set, but even though the leg had been immobilized and the wound had been cleaned competently, she could see that infection had set in and if he didn't get immediate treatment, his injury would likely be fatal.

"Why didn't you call for help sooner?" Sakura asked, flashing a frustrated glance toward the doctor.

"We did everything we could," he said. "We called for help as soon as we realized we needed it."

Sakura looked down at the boy and hoped she had gotten there soon enough. "Let's get him on the table here." She was grateful he was unconscious. She had learned from the doctor's rushed briefing that the hospital didn't have the means or staff to administer general anesthesia, and this would be a painful operation, even with a local.

As soon as the boy was lying down, Sakura placed the clamp of a pulse oximeter on his finger and began preparing the monitors and IV. She then turned back toward the doctor and told him what she needed for the regional anesthesia. And finally, once it had taken effect, her hands lit up with the thrum of her chakra and she began the operation of removing the non-viable tissue, withdrawing the bacteria, and setting the break.

To Sakura, the chakra she used for surgeries felt like an extension of her own fingers, a gossamer tool she could manipulate into almost any task, and now she delicately wove strands of it around the boy's bones, knitting them together slowly and gently so as not to shock his little body. Surprisingly, he remained stable, and finally, after an hour, she relaxed.

The buzz of her chakra faded, and she wiped her forehead with her arm as she met the eyes of the boy's mother. "The bone is set, and I was able to remove the infection. All he needs now is rest, and to stay off of it for a few weeks."

At Sakura's words, the woman broke down and her body heaved with relieved sobs. She had not let go of her son throughout the operation, but she now released him and seized Sakura's hands, her eyes shining with tears and full of gratitude. "Thank you, thank you for coming here."

At the hard grip of the woman's hands over her own, Sakura felt a swell of emotion and a rush of purpose in her work that she hadn't felt in a long time. She squeezed back, her heart trembling. "The doctor here will be able to make sure he gets the right medicine and crutches," she said. "He's going to be fine."

Above the woman's head, Sakura met Kakashi's eyes. He was leaning against the wall by the closed door, in that usual relaxed slouch with his hands in his pockets, but he tipped his head when she smiled at him.

She was grateful to have gone on this mission but as they readied to leave, she couldn't help wondering why she and Kakashi had been the ones assigned to it. After all, it wasn't a complicated case; she hadn't needed to use anything higher than a B-rank jutsu, and there were any number of medical ninja at the Leaf Hospital who could have performed the task.

Later, as they made the return trip beneath the starlit sky to Konoha, she said, "You know, I was wondering something."

"Hmm?"

"How could those people afford to send for us? I mean, I'm really glad I was able to go, but any one of the lower-level medic-nins could have done the job for less than Lady Tsunade will charge to send me and you."

"They didn't send for us specifically," he said, his voice its normal calm. "Lady Tsunade was going to send a lower-level nin. But I was in the office when the mission came in so I volunteered and said you'd be my first choice for medic. She won't charge extra, if that's what you're worried about."

"You volunteered?" Sakura asked, surprised. "Why?"

"I was bored." He glanced at her as they walked along the valley road toward Konoha, his gray eyes amused.

The corner of Sakura's lips twisted in a skeptical smirk. "Bored?"

He gave a low hum in the affirmative, but said no more as he faced the road again.

She looked ahead too, and wondered what he had really been thinking when the mission had come in. Whatever it was, she didn't buy that bored excuse for a second. She knew him well enough by now to know that while he _could_ get bored easily, he never suffered from a lack of ability to create his own diversions. He certainly wouldn't have needed a C-rank mission for amusement. Had he thought a medical mission would get her thoughts off Sasuke, at least for a little while?

Remembering the feel of that mother's hands grasping hers and the realization that she had saved a life tonight, Sakura smiled into the night. She knew she hadn't yet shed her last tear over Sasuke, and knew that day was probably still a long way off, but maybe it actually would be possible to feel good sometimes, even through the grief, if she could just focus on work.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm?" He murmured, glancing down at her.

"Thank you." She wished her eyes could say everything she felt, but maybe they didn't need to when it came to two friends who'd shared so much together already.

She saw the faint curve of his mouth beneath the mask. "Any time, Sakura."

* * *

Kakashi stood before the Memorial Stone, his eyes unwaveringly fixed on the place where Obito's name was carved in the dark rock. For more than half his life, the sharingan eye he had inherited from Obito had been a constant reminder of the mistakes that had cost his childhood teammates their lives. And although the eye was now gone, the burden of the past had not gone with it.

The image of Sakura, her stomach open on the operating table, flashed through his mind, and he tried to push it back, just as he had always tried to push back images of Rin dying by his own hand. No amount of forgiveness would ever make him forget the feel of it, the sizzle of electricity that raced through his hand as it plunged through her, the horror that rushed over him as she fell.

Kakashi let out a deep steadying breath. In so may ways, Team 7 represented what he and Obito and Rin might have been. He had to keep Sakura and Sasuke and Naruto together and safe, or Obito's trust would have again been in vain.

But his actions felt as futile as they always had. Nothing Kakashi had done had kept Sasuke from leaving the village four years ago, and nothing he'd done now had kept him from leaving again. Sasuke had the village's permission this time, but, just as before, he had left in search of answers he believed he couldn't find in Konoha.

But the last time Sasuke had left, Kaskashi had left Sakura and Naruto to fend for themselves. This time he would do everything he could to get Naruto ready for what was headed his way. And while he knew he didn't have much in the way of wisdom to offer Sakura, he could at least keep her from sitting alone on her time off and dwelling on all the could-have-beens. If there was anything he had learned over the years, it was that friends are the only things that fill the cracks in a broken heart.

With that resolve, a few minutes later, he found himself jogging up the stairs to Sakura's apartment. At the top, he knocked on her door and leaned against the railing to wait. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the splash of orange just now appearing at the horizon. There was no way she was up yet. He knocked again.

Finally the door opened, and a tired and annoyed Sakura appeared. At the sight of him, her expression changed to surprise. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"You're just waking up?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah," she said, rubbing the corners of her eyes. "Some of us actually like to sleep in if we can. What do you want?"

"Wow, is that any way to greet your old sensei?"

She only stared at him.

He smirked. "Come on, let's go for a run."

"A run?"

"Yes, a run. You know, one foot after the other, fast walk, sprint, . . ."

"Yeah yeah, I get it. But since when do you and I go running outside of missions?" A look of suspicion crossed her face, followed by a sudden, very Sakura-like, flash of anger. "Wait, did Lady Tsunade appoint you as my babysitter or something? I can't believe it. Well, you can all stop worrying about me. I'm not going to leave the village again." She glared at him. "So you can stop whatever it is you're doing."

"My babysitting days ended years ago," he said calmly. "I'm in the mood for a run and thought you might be too."

She crossed her arms and looked at him skeptically.

He crossed his own. "Are you coming or not?"

"And if I say no?"

"I'll go alone then," he responded easily. "But I'm sure you'd rather go running than sit by yourself here."

She looked at him for a moment and then opened the door wide before she turned and walked back inside. "Fine. Let me get changed."

He smiled and followed her in, kicking the door shut behind him and slipping out of his shoes.

"So where are we running?" she asked from her closed bedroom as he sunk down on the couch.

"I thought we'd do the monument run. No chakra." He heard a groan from the other side of her door. "Everything alright in there?" he called in mock concern.

"No chakra, really?"

"What, are you afraid of a few steps?"

"A few steps?" She came out of her bedroom then, her arms raised above her head as she pulled her short hair back behind her headband. "Isn't it like 3000 steps or something?"

"Something like that." He stood and started toward the door. "Maybe we should ask Naruto exactly how many there are."

She snickered. "Yeah, well, it won't change the fact that my whole body will be jelly by the time we get to the top."

"Stop complaining, come on."

"Ok, but last one to the top has to buy the team dinner next time," she said.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw the devilish expression on her face. He hesitated. Even without chakra, she had incredible strength and endurance, and despite her whining, he had a feeling he'd be the one shelling out the cash for their next meal if he took this bet.

"What, are you afraid of a few steps?" she taunted.

He lifted his eyebrows. "Alright, deal."

Ten minutes later, they had started up the 3000 winding steps of the Hokage monument that eventually snaked around the First Hokage's face and up to the plateau above. He let her set the pace, staying close enough, but conserving as much energy as possible for the final push he'd need to get past her at the top. How she could keep such an unforgiving pace was mind-boggling.

"You ok back there?" Sakura laughed over her shoulder at him as they reached the bend in the stairs near the First Hokage's chin.

"You just worry about yourself," he called back, ignoring the burn in his calves and thighs, and looking out over the sweeping vista of the village. He would never tire of this view.

"I can't believe how big your head looks from here," she said a few minutes later with a teasing lilt to her voice. "There's no getting out of the job now, you know."

He followed her gaze past the jutting profiles of five stone Hokage to the likeness of himself now carved into the rock cliff. "Maybe I'll get lucky and Naruto will take on the job before I can get to it," he replied, as he began to close in on her. She was finally beginning to sound winded. There was no way she'd keep this pace to the top.

When they passed the First Hokage's stone hitai-ate, Kakashi decided to make his move. Pulling on his final reserves of energy for the last hundred steps, he began to close the distance between them. Half a minute later, he had drawn even with her, and as he passed, he gave her a lazy salute. "See you at the top."

If he'd had any serious objections to buying dinner, he would never have taunted her. After all, he had learned years ago that the surefire way to get Sakura to find her own hidden reserves of energy and determination was to surpass her in any way. And to tease her while doing it? Well, he'd also learned to be damn sure she couldn't catch up if he was going to do that.

Of course, he wasn't convinced she couldn't catch up this time, but he _was_ pretty sure she wouldn't throw him over the edge if she did catch him. As he ran with all the natural strength he could command though, the ridge of the plateau above loomed closer with every second, and he became sure of his victory.

But then, three steps from the top, he caught a flash of pink in his peripheral vision.

"What was that you said?" Her voice was breathless and her eyes were a quick sparkle of green as she surged past, and a moment later she had somehow managed to reach the plateau an inch before him.

She then promptly collapsed to the ground, her chest heaving as she looked up at him and grinned out gasping breaths. Beside her, he leaned over, his hands on his bent knees, as he tried to catch his own breath. "Nice race," he said, impressed.

"Thanks," she answered between breaths. "But my legs are mush."

He wanted to rest too, but he knew his muscles would regret it. "Come on," he said after a minute, holding out his hand to her. "Let's walk, before our muscles seize up."

She let him pull her to her feet, a grin still on her face. "Dinner's on you. And I can't wait to try that new sushi place."

"I was thinking more along the lines of Ichiraku."

"Don't even try it," she said. "We've both had enough ramen to last a lifetime."

"Well, whatever you want," he said easily. Sushi sounded good anyway.

Turning, he took in the panoramic view of Konoha, its roads fanning outward from the Hokage Tower, rooftops of crimson and yellow and emerald green glinting in the morning sun, the Naka river curving along the outer wall like a drowsy serpent. His blood and tears had watered this land.

Maybe that was why the village continued to endure, defiantly rebuilding time and again. Because its soul was not in the slate and wood of its buildings or in the great stone monument that watched over its roads. Its soul, its strength, its beating heart, were its people.

"This really is the most beautiful place in the world," Sakura said from beside him, her voice hushed. "It's . . ." She trailed off, and Kakashi looked down at her.

When she spoke again, her voice was still low and almost reverent in its wonder. "It's so much . . . bigger than us. I had almost forgotten." Her eyes met his, and in her face was mingled amazement and sadness and joy, her eyes red from un-shed emotion. "I'm not sure how to put it into words," she finished, turning her face back toward the view.

"It's alright." He looked at her profile for a few moments before turning his eyes toward the village again too. "I know what you mean." He was sure she was feeling that same combination of insignificance and inspiration he always felt when standing here.

Sunlight shimmered off the distant gates and for the hundredth time, it hit Kakashi that he would be the next Hokage. To say he was in no rush to take on that role would be an understatement, but it was only a matter of time before Lady Tsunade would start putting the pressure on him to pick an inauguration date.

"What are you thinking?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm?" Pulled from his reflections, he met her eyes. What was he thinking? Too much. That he wasn't what the village needed, that he regretted not being a better teacher and friend to her over the years, that he was sorry for not being able to keep Sasuke in the village. "That it's about time we start walking, or you might be carrying me back," he answered.

"It wouldn't be the first time." She smiled, and a moment later, they turned and walked back toward the path.

"They've done so much up here," Sakura said as she looked around the rest of the plateau. "Ino's been trying to get me up here but I never found the time."

Kakashi surveyed the flat grassy expanse at the top of the monument and had to admit that it was finally coming together. After the war, Tsunade had designated the space for parkland, and since then, the formerly bare cliff top had been slowly transforming.

"Have they hooked up the electricity yet?" Sakura asked.

"Not yet." He looked at the strings of tiny unlit bulbs strung through the trees and the round paper lanterns hanging from the corners of the gazebo. He'd recently sat in on a meeting in which Tsunade had been shouting to some unfortunate committee member about the escalating costs of the project.

"I hope they do soon," Sakura said. "I bet it'll look like a fairyland at night."

They made a circuit of the new park before finally starting back down, this time with no chakra limitations. "Up for joining me for another workout tomorrow morning?" Kakashi asked when they had reached the front of the tea shop below her apartment.

"Ok, but _not_ at six in the morning."

"Would five-thirty be better?"

She gave him a freezing look. He held back a chuckle. "I'll see you tomorrow then." And he flickered away in a swirl of wind.

* * *

On Saturday evening, after a week of unforgiving morning workouts, Sakura decided she'd give Kakashi a little payback for his obscenely early wake-ups, and be the one to drag _him_ out of bed the following morning. Of course, when her alarm jolted her awake at 3:30 on Sunday, she sat up with a groan and almost rethought the decision.

But a half hour later, she was on his front porch. After pounding on the door, a minute passed, and then another, and with a twinge of disappointment, she began to wonder if she had somehow missed him on the way here.

But no, she thought; it was almost two hours earlier than he'd ever shown up at her place—he _had_ to be home. After giving the door a few more loud knocks with no response, though, she had half-turned to walk back down the front stairs when it finally opened.

Turning around, she saw Kakashi at the half-open door, his hair damp. "Good morning," he said, his eyes curious as they met hers. "To what do I owe this early visit?" He wore his mask, but his shirt was in his hands and he now looked down at it as he flipped it over and began to pull it on.

Sakura's eyes flitted to his bare chest, and she couldn't help but notice the way his muscles moved and flexed as he pulled the shirt over his head. She suddenly remembered Ino being astonished that she'd never noticed how hot Kakashi was. The memory brought a blush to Sakura's cheeks, and when her eyes jumped back up to his face she found him considering her, the corners of his eyes betraying the curve of his lips, and she blushed even deeper.

"I . . . um . . . I thought I'd pay you back and wake _you_ up for a change," she managed to say, still feeling inexplicably embarrassed. "But I guess even four a.m. isn't early enough."

"Not usually," he said. "Come on in. I'll be ready in a minute. You caught me in the shower."

He walked back into the bathroom, while Sakura settled down in a chair in the living room and looked around. "How do you like this place?" It was definitely an upgrade from the tiny apartment he'd been in before Konoha had been practically leveled a year ago.

Wandering out of the bathroom and rubbing a towel in his hair, he looked around too, as if he were trying to see it through her eyes. "Too big. It's taken some getting used to."

"I like it. The Hokage can't be holed up in a tiny apartment, you know."

"Apparently not," he said, and tossed the towel over the back of the chair before pushing his hands in his pockets. He looked down at her then and his expression became more serious than Sakura had seen it in a while, his eyes seeming to search hers. She was about to ask him if everything was ok when he spoke. "I wasn't planning to come get you till six. I have a stop to make first. Do you mind coming along?"

"No, that's fine," she replied, standing. "But I don't want to be in your way or anything. I can go back home and you can meet me when you're done, if you want."

"You won't be in the way," he said. "You've been there with me before."

She looked questioningly at him.

"The cemetery and the Memorial Stone." He turned toward the door and grabbed his vest. "I go every morning when I'm in Konoha."

"Oh," Sakura said quietly. "I didn't know." She followed him out and waited behind him on the porch as he locked the door. "Are you sure I won't be intruding?"

"I'm sure."

They walked toward the Third Training Grounds, and at the Memorial Stone, she stood beside him in easy silence, remembering the last time she had stood there with him. It had been the evening they had returned after the war, when Sasuke had been taken to the Konoha jail. That day now felt like a lifetime ago. Her future had been different then, Sakura thought. Looking forward now, she no longer had any idea what it held.

At the rush of memories, Sakura felt the sting of tears, but held them back with an effort of will that made her throat ache. She had to let go of what she had hoped for then. Of what she had believed. But letting go was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

As the first streaks of blue lightened the sky, she and Kakashi began to walk back through the Training Grounds in the general direction of the village gates. "How long have you been coming here in the mornings?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Since I was thirteen," he said as he walked, hands in his pockets. His voice was its usual calm, if a little softer than usual.

And all the while, she and the boys had assumed he was always late for their missions out of disinterest or laziness. She wanted to ask more, but didn't want to pry. Maybe there was a reason he'd never shared that with them. Maybe someday she would ask him.

After a little ways more in silence, he glanced down at her. "I noticed you stopped wearing your dad's necklace. Did anything happen to it?"

"Yeah," she said, sure her face revealed the sudden pang of heartache. "I lost it sparring with Naruto and . . . and with Sasuke. I had thought of asking you to see if your dogs could help find it, but I think that's a hopeless idea."

"Where did it happen? They can try."

She felt a brief flash of optimism, but tried to push it down, knowing it was near impossible that they could unearth the pendant. "Just back there, actually. Behind the Third Training Grounds."

When they arrived back at the area of forest where the necklace had fallen off, Kakashi summoned his eight ninken, who immediately appeared in a puff of smoke. "Hey Boss, hey Sakura," Pakkun said in his rough voice as he jumped down from Bull's head.

Kakashi explained the mission, and the dogs proceeded to take a deep whiff of Sakura's hair. "Hmmm, you're using a new shampoo again," Pakkun rumbled, and just barely leaped away from Sakura's punch as he let out his gruff doggy cackle.

After that, all of them except Bull were sent out. Sakura had commandeered the giant bulldog, without much prodding, and was now sitting against him in the patchy winter grass. She knew it was foolish, but her nerves were quivering with the anxious hope that any minute one of the dogs would appear with her pendant, and Bull's furry bulk was a calming presence.

As she had expected though, the mission turned up nothing, and when the dogs returned empty-pawed, she swallowed hard and fought back the tears. But she thanked them all, and even gave Pakkun an extended hug, which he resisted every second of, and tried not to let her own disappointment show.

"Thanks for doing that," she said to Kakashi, after the dogs had departed.

"It was worth a try," he replied. "I'm sorry we couldn't find it."

"It's ok. I knew it was a long shot." Her lips curved in a sad smile. "But now I really need that run."

* * *

Afterward, they had just reached the front of the tea shop when Sakura caught sight of Naruto coming towards them.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei," Naruto called out as he approached. And then, as he draped his arm around Sakura, he grinned. "Hey Sakura-sensei."

She groaned. "Don't call me that."

"Aw, don't be mad. I'm going to be your best student, believe it."

"I doubt it." She shook off his arm and tried to glare at him. "I can't believe I have to do this. I swear, if you and Konohamaru make any trouble, I won't hesitate to kill either of you."

Naruto only grinned wider. "Cheer up, it'll be fun. Anyway, I have to run—I'm meeting Shikamaru. You're still coming with us to karaoke tonight, right? Everyone's going."

"Yeah, I'm coming with Ino and Sai. Who else is going?"

"Hinata and Lee and Tenten so far. And probably Shikamaru and Kiba and Choji. And maybe Shino." Turning to Kakashi, he asked, "You'll come too, right Kakashi-sensei? Gai-sensei and some other old timers are going to be there, I think."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at Naruto. "Didn't you say you have somewhere to be?"

"Fine, I won't bother you about it," he laughed. "But I'll see you later Sakura!" And he jogged off with a wave.

After Naruto had gone, Sakura turned to Kakashi. " _Will_ you come?"

"We'll see."

"I'll take that as a 'no' then," she said with a forbearing smile and rolled her eyes.

"I can't make any promises—there might be some little old ladies that need help across streets." His voice took on a tone of mock gravity.

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure you've used that one before," she said. "But that's ok. I'll save a seat for you just in case." Her expression softened then. "Anyway, thanks for hanging out this week. It really took my mind off things."

"I know." The corners of his eyes crinkled. "Glad I could be of service."

"Well, I'll see you around—wish me luck that I don't murder anyone in my first week teaching."

"Yes, please don't kill our future Hokage. If you do, you'll be taking that job too."

"No promises," she said, her mouth tilting toward a grin, and then turned and jogged along the side of the tea shop toward her apartment.

* * *

The music pulsed through Sakura's body as she sat at a high-top pub table and watched her friends making fools of themselves on stage. They were singing one of her favorite songs, and the quick thumping of the beat and the thrum of voices around her made her feel better than she had all week.

The little red dress Ino had convinced her to wear wasn't hurting either; it made her feel sexy for the first time in as long as she could remember. A part of her wondered what Sasuke would think if he saw her.

It was a foolish thought, she knew, but despite how much her friends had done to keep her occupied, it was still hard not to think about him or dwell on every moment she'd had with him in the last three months.

She felt the draft of cool air from the restaurant's front door as it opened, and her eyes strayed there to see who was coming in. She'd been half watching the door all night, and this time, when a couple Jōnin she didn't recognize walked inside, she inwardly chided herself for expecting it to be Kakashi. She couldn't be surprised. It really wasn't his thing.

Looking back to the stage, she watched Naruto twirl Hinata around, and felt a pang of loneliness. Maybe she should go up there. With everyone on stage, she could get away with just humming a little.

But then she heard a low familiar voice close to her ear. "I thought you said you would save me a seat."

Forgetting the stage, she spun in her chair with a smile and came almost face to face with Kakashi, who was standing casually beside the table. "Kakashi-sensei! I can't believe you actually showed up!" She hopped down to scoot her stool over as he pulled up a chair and sat beside her.

As the server came over to take his order, Sakura couldn't stop grinning, and when he turned his attention back to her, he raised an eyebrow at the expression on her face. "What?"

"I'm just excited that you came here tonight."

"I figured I couldn't miss your last night of freedom before the academy gig."

At that, the grin slid off her face. "Thanks for reminding me."

He turned to watch the singers and she saw the corners of his eyes crease in amusement. "Is that Naruto up there?" he asked.

"Yeah, can you believe it? I would have never guessed he was such a good singer. I wonder where he's been hiding all these talents over the years."

"Who's up there with him?"

She smiled. "Everybody. It's the only way he could get Hinata up there."

Kakashi turned to her. "So why aren't you up there too?"

"Really?" She lifted her eyebrows at him. "I can't even carry a tune. There's no way I'm singing."

"I'm sure you're better than you think. Can you sing something?"

"Where, right here?" Her expression was dubious.

"No one's paying attention." He glanced lazily around at the crowded restaurant and then back to her.

She looked around too, even leaning forward to look behind him. "Ok. . ." she said slowly, in a tone of voice that indicated she clearly thought the request was crazy but she'd humor him just to prove she was right. She could not believe she was going to sing in front of him. "But I don't even think I know enough of the lyrics to any song to be able to sing one."

She thought for a moment, and then remembered that she had heard the Fire Country battle anthem countless times and could at least sing that. "Oh, ok, I know one. Here goes." And she started singing their national song softly, so only he could hear her.

"What is that?" he asked, after a verse had been sung.

"The Fire anthem!" she said, incredulous. "Don't you know your own national anthem?"

"I do," he chuckled. "What you were singing wasn't it."

She crossed her arms. "I _told_ you I can't sing."

"I'll never doubt you again," he said, his eyes amused.

* * *

Later that night, Sakura walked nimbly along the top of the railing separating the paved bridge from the river below, her arms raised for balance. "Look, no chakra!" she said, smiling at Kakashi over her shoulder.

"I really like that you're happy," he commented blandly from a few paces beside her as they walked toward her apartment. "But you might want to watch before you fall into the river."

She smiled wider, jumped down at the end of the bridge, and fell into step beside him again. "I know I'm being silly," she said. "But I feel good tonight, and I want to enjoy these good days as much as I can." Her expression sobered. "When they come, I always feel like they'll last, like I won't be sad anymore. But then everything hits me again when I'm alone. I know it's stupid, to still be crying over him . . ."

"It's not stupid."

She looked at him. "Thanks, but you don't have to say that. . . so many people died during the war . . . this is just a break-up, if it can even be called _that_."

"It's a loss," he said. "You can't compare it to anyone else's. Just grieve and get stronger." Kakashi thought of the times in his life when he had grieved. He supposed he still was.

"You know, when I was coming back through Rain country, before the attack, I didn't care about my life." Sakura spoke softly, hesitatingly. "I knew it was dangerous to go that way, but there was this part of me that didn't care if I died. I'm so. . .I shouldn't have felt that way, when other people. . ." Her words trailed off.

"It's hard not to feel that way sometimes."

She glanced up. "Have you ever felt that way?"

Kakashi met her eyes briefly before facing the road again. "We've all had our moments of darkness. I think what matters is that we don't let the darkness win." He knew, though, how hard that fight could be sometimes.

She fell silent for a few minutes. "I'm glad I'm alive," she said finally, quietly. "I want to remember that."

"I think you will."

When they reached the tea shop, he followed her along the path between the buildings and up to her door. At the top of the stairs, she looked at the moon and for a few moments seemed lost in thought. But when she turned to him, her expression was cheerful. "Thanks for walking me home."

"Any time," he said, struck with how green her eyes looked in the moonglow. "But now I think I'll let you get some rest. It _is_ a school night, after all."

"Ha ha," she said, her face going stony. "I'll let you know how it goes when I see you."

"I'm looking forward to it." He waited until she unlocked her door and had stepped half inside before he started to turn back toward the stairs. "I'll see you later."

"Wait, before you go. . . I . . ." She spoke softly behind him, from the darkness of the doorway.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked, turning to face her again.

"No. But. . . I want to thank you for everything you've done for me the last few weeks. And I'm really gonna miss our morning workouts, even though I could barely walk after any of them," she said with a small smile. "So thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," he said. "It's what friends do."

And then suddenly, spontaneously, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug. Surprised, he raised his hands to her back, and returned her embrace lightly. "Well, then thanks for being a good friend," she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder, her hair against his cheek.

He couldn't help breathing in the familiar scent of her-it was bright and sweet and warm, and _alive._ He was glad she was alive too, glad that for all his mistakes over the years, he'd at least been able to do something good for her this time. And for the brief moment before they parted, he let his arms tighten around her and held her like he didn't want to let go.

* * *

 **To be continued. . .**

 **A/N:** I hope you like it. This chapter took SO MUCH longer than I thought it would and I'm not so sure about it. Please let me know your thoughts!

Ahhh, Kakashi. He was shirtless this time. I think in the following chapters, I'll do my best to get him in various states of undress. Also, I know in Japan and other Asian countries, karaoke is done in private rooms, not public bars or restaurants, but I took a bit of a liberty in this chapter. I figured Konoha is already well beyond historically inaccurate, so it wouldn't be too big of a deal. I hope you're all entertained enough not to mind!

For Sakura and Kakashi's songs this chapter:

1\. (Sakura) i can't breathe - Bea Miller

2\. (Kakashi) Whole Lot to Love – Clouds and Thorns

3\. (Sakura) Shake it Out – Florence + the Machine

4\. (Kakashi) Get Up - Mother Mother

5\. (Sakura) Fireflies - Marie Hines


	8. Chapter 8 - Pursuing Hope

**Thank you to everyone who has read this far and for waiting this long for an update!**

I rushed to get chapter 7 out before I was happy with it, and I think that's why I got stuck with this chapter for so long. So I went back and tinkered with chapter 7 (no plot/story changes at all!) and made minor edits to the Kakashi/Sakura scenes to fix the pacing and tone of the conversations/internal thoughts, and added a scene with Ino. Edit made 4/16/19. You won't miss any plot if you don't re-read it but if you do check it out, I hope you enjoy it!

 **Now on to Chapter 8-finally more Sai and Ino in this one!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Pursuing Hope**

* * *

Sakura struggled to focus on her students, their faces screwed up in concentration as each attempted to infuse more physical energy into their chakra and focus it into the lifeless beetles laying on each of their desks.

They were all so excited and hopeful to graduate and start missions. Sakura could barely remember what it felt like to be in that position, an endless land of opportunity before her that could be shaped into anything she wanted.

What _had_ she wanted then? Sasuke. That was it. She had certainly never dreamed of being a doctor when she was in the academy. No, she had only headed down that path after seeking out Lady Tsunade in an attempt to catch up to Sasuke and Naruto. Looking back, it seemed everything she'd ever done had been to catch up to them.

And now she was here.

Despite her resistance, the old academy classroom had been a welcoming sight when she had shown up to teach a few weeks before. But the sense of comfort hadn't lasted, and with every day that passed, the aura of the school and this room had become more oppressive.

Now, the tiered rows of desks loomed above her. Nerves quivered beneath her skin. Her head ached. Her lungs struggled to take in air. Seconds that were minutes long passed while her chest tightened and the edges of her vision darkened. Breathe, she had to breathe. Eyes squeezed shut. The low hum of the students' work and whispered voices built to an incessant drone in her head. The air was hot and her hands were trembling.

She was going to suffocate. She needed out of this room.

She strained out some kind of excuse but it was enough to escape on. She hoped it was at least, because once it was out of her mouth, it was forgotten in her escape. The hallway blurred as she rushed and stumbled past.

But there were the academy doors, finally. A moment later she was bursting through them. Cool, fresh air. Leaning over, hands on her knees. Gasping. Gulping it into her lungs with desperate, greedy breaths.

Just breathe, she thought. In through her nose, out through her mouth. Long seconds passed and her breathing slowed. A calm breeze teased her hair, playful. Straightening, she drew air into her lungs. One deep breath and one slow exhale.

Gods, she wished she could remember what excuse she'd thrown at her students. At least she hadn't been with Naruto's class.

The leaves stirred, and the rope swing that hung from one of the trees at the far end of the courtyard swayed, alone in the wind, and then stilled. Like so much in Konoha, it was one of the things that had been replaced after the village's destruction a year ago. Even the tree it hung from was a transplant from outside the gates.

The sweet scent of plum blossoms carried over the walls and Sakura inhaled deep. It was time. Time to make a change. A real one. Not just to talk about it, but to really do it. Now. She needed to speak with Lady Tsunade.

Taking one more deep breath, she headed toward the narrow lane behind the academy that led to the Hokage Tower. It was a well-worn path for Sakura. She must have walked it hundreds of times. Thousands maybe. It was a trek she'd made every day during those years when she was the only member of Team 7 left in Konoha. Those years after Sasuke had deserted, when Naruto was gone to train with Jiraiya, and Kakashi was absent on some mission or another.

She'd wanted change then too. Every time she'd walked this path, she'd been searching for something that would show she deserved to stand beside her teammates. Something that would give her the ability to protect them, instead of being the one needing protection. Had she found it? Was she still looking for it?

Determination quickened her steps. She might not know what she was searching for now, but she was tired of waiting for it.

A few minutes later, she was at the Hokage's door. The knock of her knuckles against the heavy door sounded loud in the hallway. Or maybe that was just the pounding of the pulse in her brain.

In the little time she'd had on the walk over, Sakura tried to plan what she would say. How she would say it. But planning was impossible when she wasn't even sure what she would ask for.

Now, after pushing the door open and seeing Tsunade's face, she wondered if simply showing up with sake would have been the way to go. Oh well, too late for that.

"What brings you in, Sakura?" The stacks of paper the Hokage sat behind couldn't hide her distraction and impatience. But knowing her, she wasn't trying to hide them.

"I'm sorry for bothering you Shishou but . . . I came here because . . . well . . ." Sakura groaned internally. Her eyes wandered to the ceiling in an effort to pull her thoughts together. Returning her gaze to Tsunade, she was met with a raised eyebrow. Gathering her breath and her courage, she went on. "I came here because . . . I think I need a break. I . . . I'm having trouble handling everything." Understatement of the century, right there. She closed her eyes but just as quickly opened them again. Her spine stiffened. "So, after some thought, I've decided to request a leave of absence from my duties. I want to take some time to sort everything out."

There. It was done. Relieved, she let out a stuttering exhalation. But Tsunade only considered her for a while without answering, and uneasiness crept in at the corners of Sakura's mind. Tsunade's long silences usually presaged eruptions of temper.

After another few moments in which she silently regarded Sakura, Tsunade spoke. "That's fair. I can allow you some time off."

Sakura let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "Thank you for understanding. I . . ."

"Five minutes," Tsunade interrupted, her voice firm.

Sakura frowned. "I'm sorry? What?"

"Five minutes," Tsunade repeated. "And then I need you back at work."

"Shishou, I wasn't joking."

"And I'm not either Sakura. I need to be able to rely on you."

Anger, disappointment, frustration all crowded to the surface, hot under Sakura's skin. "But that's the problem. That's why I'm here. I . . . don't think this is what I'm supposed to be doing." Gods, how could she explain what she meant? "Don't you remember? I only came to you for training so I could catch up to Sasuke and Naruto. You must know it had never crossed my mind to study medical ninjutsu until then."

"And?" Tsunade remained unmoved, her elbows on her desk and her fingers steepled. "What does that have to do with your job?"

"It means I'm a fraud! I can't even remember a time when I wasn't chasing Sasuke in some way or another. I can't think of anything I did just because _I_ wanted to."

"So you think you don't want to be a doctor now, because of the reasons that led you to it?"

"I don't know." Sakura's thoughts were turbulent. "All I know is that I don't want to chase anyone but myself ever again."

"Can you tell me you don't feel rewarded in your work?" Tsunade asked. "That you don't feel you're good at it?"

Sakura huffed. That wasn't the point. "Of course I feel those things." Really, the times she got to heal someone were the only times she felt anything like purpose these days. "But what would I have pursued if I hadn't been hung up on Sasuke?"

"I don't know," Tsunade said, turning her attention to the papers before her. "But it doesn't matter, because if it wasn't this, none of us would be here right now."

"How do you figure?" Sakura crossed her arms. She didn't want or need Tsunade to puff her up or praise her.

"Who pumped Naruto's heart with her own hand and kept him alive on the battlefield?" Tsunade asked, looking up again, annoyance finally creeping into her voice. It was a tone laced with challenge, daring Sakura to disagree. "Or healed him and Sasuke after they tried to kill each other?"

Sakura sighed. "Shishou . . ."

"Sakura, it doesn't matter what starts you on a path. All that matters is what _keeps_ you on it. You may have come to me because you wanted to catch up to your teammates. But you stayed with me because you found your calling." Tsunade stood and came around to the front of her desk, looking Sakura square in the eyes.

"You have a talent for medicine that I've never seen in anyone before. I know the ideas and plans you have for the medical ninjutsu field come from _your_ mind, and no one else's. The feeling you have when you heal someone comes from _your_ heart. Anyone can see it on your face. So I don't care how you found your way into medicine. All I know is that it was meant for you and I won't allow you to run away from it." Tsunade put her hands on Sakura's shoulders, her gaze hard and unwavering.

A lump of emotion caught in Sakura's throat as she met that stare. She tried to swallow it. Was that what she was doing? Running away?

"As for the other feelings you're dealing with," Tsunade continued. "I've watched you now for too long acting like you're the one who doesn't deserve that little shit, when anyone with eyes can see he's the one who doesn't deserve you. So you can have five minutes, but that's all the time I can spare."

Sakura gave a reluctant, albeit wobbly, smile, and wiped her eyes.

"Now, can I count on you?"

Returning Tsunade's gaze, Sakura let out a quavering sigh. Did she have a choice? Well, yes, she supposed she ultimately did. But what would she say? No, you can't count on me? No, Shishou, I'm a mess. I can't focus, I don't know who I am, I don't know if I ever have. I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to reach Sasuke. So please find someone else to help with Naruto's arm. Find someone else to get the children's center off the ground. Find someone else to help you run the hospital.

But who would she get? There was no one else.

Sakura felt the familiar prickle behind her eyes at the realization and bit back a choked sob. She was a mess. But she wasn't twelve, despite how she might feel sometimes. And she had a job to do. They were rebuilding a village, a nation, and building an empire from scratch. There was no one to call in and cover her shift.

It was unfair and fair at the same time. She'd chosen the path of a shinobi. She'd sought out the Hokage. She'd fought to master the techniques she could now do in her sleep. Could she now not shoulder the responsibilities that came from her success? Could she turn her back on Tsunade, on everyone? "I'm sorry Shishou. I . . . yes . . ." Another deep breath. "Yes, I'll do my best."

Tsunade simply looked at her for a few moments. "Good," she finally said.

Sakura released a quavering sigh.

Tsunade walked back behind her desk and began rifling through papers. "I've been meaning to talk to you anyway, and since you're here, this is as good a time as any. Have a seat."

Sakura sat. Tsunade went on, still shuffling through the piles. "You know the next Shinobi Union summit is in April. We had hoped the terms would be finalized by then, but at this point, we've reached a deadlock." She found the paper she was looking for and took her seat behind the desk.

Sakura nodded, wondered where this was going.

"The smaller nations want an equal say without equal contribution. Everyone wants access to the research of the other nations and no one wants to share. And now with this insurgent group causing chaos in Iron, and the ninja that have been disappearing, things are in a sensitive state."

She handed Sakura the paper she'd plucked from her desk. "But for now, what I need your help with is the Union medical corps. You're the only medic I trust to be part of our advance team in April. The Kage won't participate in the earlier negotiations so I need you to be my eyes, ears, and voice in those meetings."

Sakura stared at her in outright shock. "You want me to be part of Konoha's delegation?"

"I do. I need someone who can advocate the village's position when forming the new medical corps, and your participation in those meetings will be crucial. Until then, I want you to start taking part in all my summit meetings. You'll find the details there." She eyed the document in Sakura's hand. "The next meeting is this weekend and I want you to be prepared to discuss the issues in there."

Sakura stared down at the paper. "I'm happy to be a part of the planning meetings. But the delegation?" She'd try to handle what Tsunade asked of her, of course she would, but there was no way she could face Sasuke again so soon. "Are you sure you need to send me to the Land of Iron?"

"I need you there." Tsunade raised a skeptical eyebrow. "But just so we're clear, Sasuke will be long gone by the time the delegation is sent."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "Then I'd be honored to go."

* * *

The wind rustled the leaves around Kakashi, and his feet balanced reflexively on the swaying branch as he turned a page in his book and waited for Pakkun to return. In the last couple weeks, he and his ninken had combed most of Konoha, but the mission had turned up empty. At least, the hidden mission had turned up empty.

Ostensibly, he was assessing the village's training grounds for areas of improvement. Or rather, as Kakashi viewed it, for ways to make them even more intimidating and unforgiving. And while it wasn't his main goal for the mission, he had to admit it had become pretty interesting.

Now, as the leaves calmed, another, almost imperceptible sound caught his attention, and he sighed. With a snap, he shut his book and pushed it into his back pocket. A moment later, a lone Anbu agent appeared before him on the branch.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Senpai," the agent said, rigid and alert, the sword at his back glinting. Even if Kakashi hadn't recognized the pattern of the mask, he would have known Sai from his voice. "The Hokage has requested your presence."

"Has there been an emergency?"

"She requested I inform you that a communiqué has been received from Sasuke Uchiha and she wants to discuss it before the summit meeting."

"I see," Kakashi said. The summit meeting was tomorrow. "Let her know I'll be there once my inspection is finished here."

Sai's hesitation was almost unnoticeable. "She requested that I escort you there immediately."

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow. "And I imagine she threatened both of our lives if I didn't comply."

Sai didn't respond. Just then, the scrabbling of Pakkun's paws sounded in the branches, followed by the appearance of the little pug. The dog eyed Sai with a blank expression before turning to Kakashi.

"I'll be finished here shortly," Kakashi said to Sai. "I'll meet you at the training ground's south entrance in five minutes."

"Understood, Senpai." And with that, Sai was gone.

"What's the report?" Kakashi asked, turning to Pakkun, but one look at the pug's face told him what he needed to know.

"No luck, boss," Pakkun gruffed as he plopped his rump down on the branch. "The rest of the pack turned up nothing."

Kakashi sighed again. "Then it looks like we'll be searching the animal district after all."

"How bad can it be?" Pakkun's face broke into a leer. "It's just a bunch of mangy animals in a nature preserve. If it's there, we'll have it in no time."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "Don't underestimate those creatures. The last and only time I was ever inside was over twenty years ago. Obito and I ended up running from some kind of cross between a sloth and a bear. It wasn't pretty. Remember, options are limited when it comes to fighting in there."

Pakkun grunted and scratched at a spot behind his ear with one of his hind legs. "Should I tell the rest of the pack we'll hold off?"

Kakashi thought back to the aftermath of Pein's attack on the village a year ago. The Hokage Tower archives hadn't been destroyed, and he'd been able to replace his old team pictures, but he'd lost just about everything else he owned that day. He and his comrades had lived, and that was all that really mattered to him, but it stung nonetheless to lose the few remaining physical tokens he'd had of the people he'd loved.

Like his own relics, he knew Sakura's necklace had been more to her than just a pendant on a chain. That day she'd asked him to search for it he'd seen in her face how much it hurt her to lose it. If there was a chance it could be found, he wouldn't give up the search just because a few onbaa stood in his way.

"No, I don't want to lose the trail," Kakashi said. "Be ready tomorrow morning."

* * *

Sakura glanced across the table and met Naruto's eyes. He grinned. She returned it with a smile of her own.

Since her talk with Tsunade, she'd had time to process what it meant to be a member of these summit meetings, and was still in disbelief that she was part of something that would affect the peace of the shinobi world for the rest of her life. It helped to have the knuckle-headed version of Naruto to keep things in perspective.

"The advance team will go ahead to set the markers at the location designated by Mifune-sama, and the Hokage and her guard can then teleport there," Shikamaru said from the seat beside Sakura. "So far, the General won't consent to leaving the markers there for future use or to allowing anyone but the Hokage to use them, but we'll see how talks go this time."

"We don't need the markers in the future," Genma said to Shikamaru. He was reclined in the chair to Naruto's right, one knee propped against the edge of the table, the light glinting off the senbon held lazily between his lips. As one-third of the Hokage's personal guard platoon, Genma had passed Sakura in the halls of the Hokage Tower countless times, but other than the whispered rumors of his escapades, she knew very little of him.

"There's always the option of marking _you_ with the Hiraishin technique's formula," he went on. "And once you're in the Land of Iron, or anywhere for that matter, we can teleport to you should the need arise."

"That won't be necessary," Tsunade said before Shikamaru could comment. "Under Konoha's own rules, only Hokage will be marked, and I don't intend to change that. I also don't intend to make such a breach of faith to the Shinobi Union before it's even formed."

"I see no need for it anyway," Shikamaru added, resigned. "Although it is a drag to make that trip by foot every time."

"You'll have Kakashi and Sakura with you this time, so I'm sure the trip will pass quickly for you," Tsunade said. The expression on Shikamaru's face was less than thrilled but he remained silent.

Sakura wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the trip either. Although Tsunade had assured her that Sasuke would be long gone from the Land of Iron by April, she now wasn't sure if she hoped or feared that would be the case. Part of her wished he would still be there so she could face him completely aloof.

"And if there's nothing else, that takes care of logistics," Tsunade continued. "On to summit security. Yesterday, Kakashi and I discussed the latest security report from Iron, and he'll give you a briefing. I want everyone's opinion." Sakura turned toward Kakashi, and his eyes briefly met hers before moving around to the rest of those in the room.

"As everyone here already knows," he began, "Sasuke Uchiha is currently in Iron to investigate the unrest near. . ."

At Sasuke's name, Sakura's stomach twisted and her nerves quickened. She had known his name would probably come up in the meeting, and assumed she'd be prepared for it when it did. Now, her heart vibrating too rapidly for comfort, she mentally chastised herself for letting him still have the power to affect her.

". . . it's now clear this new insurgent group is aiming to cause distrust in the Shinobi Union and disrupt the Summit," Kakashi was saying. "They call themselves the Itsuka, and they're part of the same group that has been operating in the Land of Rain. Its leader appears to be a ninja originally from the Land of Silence but Sasuke has not yet been able to discover how the group communicates or coordinates its movements. He has requested that his mission be extended another month to continue the investigation and strengthen security in the Iron capitol in advance of the Summit."

"Is that wise?" Shikamaru asked. "General Mifune granted him access to the border regions pretty reluctantly. Considering the state Sasuke left the capitol in the last time he was there, it would be asking a lot of the General to grant more access."

"Actually," Tsunade answered. "The General's report indicates that he has been pleasantly surprised by Sasuke's work and has already extended the invitation. Apparently, the General's family is delighted with him—to use Mifune-sama's words. That being the case, we see no reason to deny the request."

Shikamaru responded, but his words floated around Sakura's consciousness. She heard only that Sasuke was delighting the Iron's ruling family and that he wanted to stay there. She clenched her fists as frustration and anger rolled over her like waves.

The Iron's Samurai General had two daughters, and Sakura had heard they were gorgeous. While Sasuke's cold expression at the tri-point campsite was still fresh in her memory, and she was still struggling to get past what had happened, in her mind Sasuke was having no trouble doing his job just fine and was even happy and laughing with Mifune-sama's daughters.

She'd felt a lot of things since that morning she'd followed him to his campsite—heartbreak, shock, denial, doubt of her career choice, of her direction in life—but now, for the first time, she was angry. Angry at herself, at Sasuke, at the world in general.

Tsunade began to speak again, and although Sakura heard the words, her thoughts remained miles away.

"For this reason," she was saying, "the General has renewed his request that Konoha share its poison databases and provide access to its research and antidotes. For my part, such a move seems too risky. But I've asked Sakura to analyze the proposal's merits, and I want to hear her opinion."

Sakura heard her name and felt the group's eyes on her, but through the fog in her mind, she didn't immediately realize what was expected of her, and stayed silent.

"Sakura." It was Kakashi who spoke and his voice pulled her from her trance and back to the meeting with a jolt.

His eyes were unreadable, but Tsunade's were impatient, and Sakura could hear the reproof in the Hokage's words when she said, "Do you need a minute or can we continue?"

"No Shishou," she said, willing strength into her voice and focus to her brain. The shift back to the real world had disoriented her but she couldn't blow this after all the trust Tsunade had placed on her. "I'm ready to share my insights."

With a steadying breath, Sakura turned her attention to the rest of the room. "I've considered the pros and cons of setting up a network between the villages, and after all considerations, I think it's reasonable and smart to share some of our research," she began.

"Without each country disclosing some of its proprietary information, how can any of us truthfully say we believe in the Union and the possibility of long-term peace? So I believe a wise start would be to share something that will bring a greater return than if we continued to keep it secret. Our poison research is a good example of that."

"How would sharing our knowledge of poisons benefit Konoha?" Shikamaru asked, his expression skeptical. "How do you propose keeping it out of the hands of the very group we're trying to defeat?"

"From my analysis, I don't think it matters," Sakura said. "The poison already being used by this group is unknown, at least here. I've been studying it for weeks, and I can't isolate its biochemistry or determine its origin. But if it originated in the west, it's possible it's already known in the Land of Iron or another western country, and if it isn't, they might have research that could be used to develop an antidote."

"That's unlikely. Konoha is leagues ahead of the other nations in this area," Shikamaru countered. "With time, we could develop our own antidote without weakening ourselves in the process."

"First, we don't have that kind of time. Do you have any idea how antidotes are developed? The next Union summit is two months away and we're dealing with a completely new poison." Shikamaru might be a genius, Sakura thought, but he knew nothing about the work she did. "And we _don't_ know that we're more advanced than the other countries. So why waste our resources when we can get what we need now? There is only advantage to increasing the store of knowledge in the world."

"You're thinking like a scientist," Shikamaru said. "There very well could be a _big_ disadvantage to sharing what we know. Give the other nations the chance and they'll use it against us."

"In my opinion, it's a calculated risk worth taking," Sakura responded, her face animated. "Going somewhere we've never gone requires a new way of doing things. The isolationism and secret-keeping of the past should stop."

Before Shikamaru could counter again, Naruto spoke, and his expression was far distant from that of someone who still spent his days in an academy classroom. "I agree with Sakura. The other nations have already shared information and nothing makes me think they have dishonorable intentions. We didn't get this far by doing things the way they've always been done."

"I don't disagree, but it's more complicated than that, Naruto. We have to be careful in what and how much we decide to share." Shikamaru sighed.

"Maybe in some things, but not this," Naruto insisted. His voice was sure, and the light slanting through the room's curved windows seemed to highlight that combination of bold assurance and innocent faith that had won the world over. "We can't let this Itsuka group become another Akatsuki while we're all arguing about who knows more. We need to stop wasting our time and start leading the way on this."

Shikamaru didn't appear impressed as he looked out the window, seeming to fixate on the thin clouds drifting in the sky beyond. "I think we all want this alliance to succeed," he finally muttered. "So maybe we should give some more thought to exactly how we would move forward with an information disclosure while still protecting Konoha's interests."

"I agree with that," Tsunade said. "Let's move on for now, but I want some concrete proposals for how to accomplish that at the next council meeting."

A few minutes later, the meeting finally adjourned and Sakura nearly bolted from her chair. With no wish to linger, she was the first to exit the room after Tsunade, and the first down the tower stairs and out into the brilliant sunshine. Hurting and angry, all she wanted to do was punch something as soon as possible.

But before she could get away, she heard Kakashi's voice behind her. "Are you heading home?"

She spun to face him and returned a cold stare, all the anger coursing through her suddenly directed at him. "How could you do that in there? How could you not prepare me for that!?" Her voice was low, but intense in accusation.

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow, his gaze unmoved. "Prepare you for what?"

"You got that report yesterday. You knew what was in it. It would have been nice to know in advance that Sasuke was happy and enjoying life so I didn't embarrass myself at the council meeting."

"Even if I had seen you yesterday, I couldn't have discussed the report. You know the security protocols as well as anyone." His look and voice were calm but it only made her angrier. "As for anything else, I remember you asked not to be spared from difficult truths."

Sakura's hands clenched at her sides and she lifted her chin. "I don't need protection from truth, or anything else." The words sounded bitter to her ears, and she turned to leave.

"Get angry at me though," Kakashi said, his own hands in his pockets. "Better yet, hit me. Get it out. I think it's about time you finally got angry, even if it's not me you're mad at."

She turned toward him again, seething. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He took a step closer. "It means you've been doubting yourself and blaming yourself for weeks now, and it's time you realized you have no reason to do either."

"And you're the expert on emotion now?" But she knew as she spoke that it was unfair.

He shrugged. "Sometimes we teach what we need to learn."

"Fine, let's spar then," she said after a few moments. "I was already heading to the Training Grounds by the river." And she sprinted away, leaving him to follow.

* * *

A half hour later, bruised and exhausted, they sat on the sloping bank of the Naka, just inside the village walls. Sun-glinted roofs peeked above the trees in the distance and the breeze was cool against Sakura's heated skin.

When Kakashi had arrived at the Training Grounds behind her, she hadn't waited before going on the offensive, but he had been ready, and had made her earn every hit she landed. Now, laying back in the grass, she let her breathing slow. "We should do this every weekend."

"I wouldn't mind," he said from beside her, leaning back on his hands and looking out over the water. "Maybe if you take all your anger out on me, you won't have any left for your students." His voice was even she could see the faint quirk of his lips beneath the mask.

A wave of mortification passed over her. Now that her surge of outrage had cooled, she was left with only embarrassment. What had she been thinking? Sitting up, she said, "I'm really sorry about blowing up at you."

He turned back toward the river. "It's already forgotten."

Sakura frowned. "But it shouldn't be. You and Lady Tsunade have been way too tolerant with me." She watched the slow rippling of the water, its surface glittering in the sunlight. "You know as well as I do that I need to get my shit together."

"People like and respect you, Sakura. And all things considered, you're handling everything better than you might realize."

"Maybe, but I'm not handling things the way I should be." She wasn't ungrateful for the patience she'd been shown, but she was a professional, and what had happened with Sasuke or afterward in Rain country didn't justify her spacing out at work or in meetings, and certainly not scolding the future Hokage.

Kakashi didn't immediately respond, but after a few moments, he said, "When it comes to it, I know you can still handle anything thrown at you."

There weren't too many people whose opinions truly mattered to her, but Kakashi had been on that list from the day she had first met him. Now, meeting his dark grey eyes, she gave a reluctant smile. "You have to say that."

"I don't have to say anything at all," he responded, his eyes serious.

Looking away, she remained silent for a long while.

Kakashi leaned forward and rested his forearms on his bent knees. After a few more moments, he glanced her way. "Ready to head back?"

At his suggestion, Sakura finally noticed how low the sun had moved in the sky. "Sure." She stood and held her hand out to him.

"By the way, I was serious about doing this every weekend," she said as they started back toward town. "After all, I'm sure you'll give me a reason to want to beat you up next week."

He smiled. "That's what I'm here for."

Then, remembering the week of early morning workouts he'd subjected her to, she said quickly, "but I'm not getting up at six in the morning. I'll meet you at _noon_ next Saturday."

"Noon it will be," Kakashi said easily.

And after a few minutes, he said, "I haven't heard anything, so I assume you haven't killed any of your students?"

"Not yet. Actually, it hasn't been as miserable as I thought it would be." And with a smile and sidelong look at him, "although I did half expect an eraser to fall on my head the first day of class."

"Ah, yes, the eraser trick." She couldn't hear it in his voice, but from the slight crease at the corner of his eyes, she was sure he had smiled at the memory. "Naruto must be off his game."

"Maybe he's just more afraid of me than he knew to be of you back then."

Kakashi glanced at her. "That does seem more likely."

* * *

"Hi," Ino said absently from her stool at the kitchen bar when Sakura walked in. She was listening to music and tapping the tip of a pen against her chin as she mulled over the report on the counter before her. "How was the council meeting?"

"Apparently Mifune-sama's daughters are in love with Sasuke and he's asked to extend his mission there," Sakura said as she sank onto the couch.

At this, Ino turned off the song that was playing and swiveled her stool round to face Sakura. "Really?"

"Yeah," Sakura responded as she leaned back and stared at the ceiling. At the thought of it all, she felt the anger begin to rise again.

"So why do you care?" Ino asked.

"Because I do!" Frustrated tears suddenly stung Sakura's eyes but she forced them back. "Because it's like I don't even know who I am or what I want sometimes while he's over there hanging out with princesses and having no problem going on as if nothing happened!"

"Well, fuck him," Ino said pragmatically. "Hopefully they take their swords to his junk."

"Ino!" Sakura couldn't help a faint smile at the cavalier wish for Sasuke's grievous bodily harm. "I don't think he deserves mutilation over it."

"Well why not?" Ino asked innocently. "It's not like it would kill him. And you know what they say about that."

"What?"

"Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Sakura stared at her for a beat, and despite the anger and the frustration of the day, suddenly erupted into giggles.

The innocent expression on Ino's face cracked as she grinned. "So see? I'm just looking out for his best interests."

"Clearly," Sakura said, wiping tears through her laughter. It was the first real laugh she'd had since Sasuke left, and it felt good. But as it faded, she sighed. "I _hate_ that I let it get to me still. I feel like if it only made sense, I could get over it. I mean, why did he kiss me in the first place if he never cared?"

"Ok, well, first of all," Ino said. "It's impossible to make sense of half the shit he does. And second, that kiss can't even be called a real kiss. I mean, you said there was no tongue! He clearly doesn't know how. And third, it's understandable that it gets to you. You focused your whole life around him, after all. But it's time to think about yourself now. What you need is some music."

"How do you figure he doesn't know how to kiss?" Sakura asked, incredulous, as Ino began scrolling through her play list.

"It's obvious." Ino rolled her eyes. "He spent the last four years hanging out with mass murderers or trying to take over the world. The only kissing experience he probably has is from Naruto that one time in school, and I don't think we can count that." Ino laughed and dodged the pillow Sakura threw at her.

"Oh my gods, I had forgotten about that!" Sakura said, and couldn't help smiling.

"So like I said, you need to stop thinking about Sasuke, because his behavior has nothing to do with you. You're awesome and sexy and you deserve someone who sees it."

"Yeah yeah. I'm trying," Sakura mumbled. "Anyway, can we talk about something else? Tell me what the latest is with the Sweep Sai off His Feet plan."

"We're just friends," Ino said. "No sweeping anyone off their feet."

Sakura frowned. "I'm done with romance over here and need to live vicariously through you, and that's all you can give me?"

"I don't get it either." Ino smirked. "I mean, look at me. I'm perfect." She said it with such mock innocence that Sakura couldn't help laughing again.

"I love you, you know that?"

Ino grinned.

"But seriously, I've seen the way he looks at you," Sakura said. "And you two always seemed pretty cozy when I saw you together."

"No more cozy than he gets with you."

Sakura lifted an eyebrow. "I don't know what you call cozy, but I can assure you I've never fallen asleep with his hands on my legs."

" _That_ was over two months ago. Anyway, it's fine. I really don't care if there's anything more than friendship right now."

Sakura looked at her skeptically. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" She thought back on all the times she'd seen Ino and Sai together, and was sure there was something on his end. As for Ino, well, she could try to hide it all she wanted, but Sakura had known her too long to be fooled.

"You can believe there's more going on if you want," Ino said, "but that's the last thing I want to do."

"Fine, but it's really not like you to sit around and wonder," Sakura said. "I'm surprised you haven't just made the first move and found out. He likes you, trust me. He just doesn't know how to go about these things." She giggled then. "And honestly, he's probably a bit scared of you."

"Scared of me?" Ino raised an eyebrow. "Why would he be scared of me?"

"Well, you're beautiful and confident and strong and smart . . ." At Sakura's words, Ino sat up like a preening bird. Sakura rolled her eyes. ". . . and you're probably the first girl he's ever looked at in that way, and . . ."

Ino interrupted her, her voice suddenly skeptical. "I'm not going to pretend to be some helpless girl around him, or anything like that, if that's what you're about to suggest."

"Will you let me finish?" Sakura said. "What I was _going_ to say was that on top of all the _wonderful_ qualities about you," and here Sakura rolled her eyes again, "is that you are really good at coming across as if you're uninterested. And Sai probably wants to make sure first that he's not going to be punched before he tries to kiss you."

Ino was silent for a while. "Maybe," she finally mused. "But I can't see how I'm supposed to be more obvious about how I feel without looking like an idiot if things don't work out."

"Yeah," Sakura said with that sudden, surprised hurt that comes when friends accidentally stumble wrong into sensitive territory. "And really, who am I to give you advice? I clearly made a fool of myself with Sasuke and no one will ever forget it."

Ino's eyes flew to Sakura's and her expression was one of ashamed apology. "Sakura, no, I didn't mean it like that at all!"

Sakura knew she hadn't, and shouldn't get angry, but it stung nonetheless. "No, I know you didn't," she said, and tried to smile. "And really, the situations are totally different. Sai does like you, Ino. I can see it."

Ino was silent for a long while. Finally she spoke. "I'm really sorry Sakura."

"Stop it. I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"Ok."

"Anyway, I wasn't saying to throw yourself at him or anything," Sakura said, trying to smile again. "Just to drop a tiny hint here and there so he's not totally in the dark."

"I really shouldn't have to," Ino finally said with a flip of her hair. "Me being who I am should be enough. If he can't tell I like him, he clearly doesn't know me."

"Well, you can't tell that _he_ likes _you_ either. Love makes people blind and stupid."

"Yeah, that's for sure." Ino looked pointedly at her friend. "But I really don't even know why we're still talking about it." She turned back to her playlist again, and after another few moments, finally selected a song and cranked up the speakers. "This is the perfect song for you right now."

A second later the room was filled with the thumping beat of one of the girl power anthems Ino was always listening to these days. Already singing along, she reached for Sakura.

"I'm not dancing—get away from me!" Sakura said, laughing and swiping Ino away.

"Like hell you're not," Ino said between lyrics as she grabbed Sakura's hands and tugged her to her feet. Grinning, she then started singing again, while she bounced and tried to get Sakura to do the same.

Finally, as Ino's enthusiasm made her let go, Sakura gave in. And with their arms in the air, their hair springing around them, they danced, free and a little bit wild, their voices belting out the lyrics completely off key. Sakura laughed and sang, and knew they probably looked like idiots, but didn't at all care.

* * *

After Sai finished unsealing the last of the medical equipment from the storage scroll and Ino helped with the last of its installation, she couldn't help a secret smile of satisfaction. They worked well together and she was glad she'd convinced Lady Tsunade to send him along with her rather than Tenten.

They had been assigned to deliver the final shipment of medical aid to the mining village Sakura had visited a month before, and while Ino was tasked with assisting the village doctor with its installation, Sai was the mission's fuinjutsu specialist.

Earlier that morning, the Hokage had lifted a suspicious eyebrow at Ino when she'd suggested Sai would be a better mission choice than Tenten since he could also transport them there and back much more quickly than the time it would take to travel by foot. But Tsunade's inquisitorial glance had been met with calm innocence from Ino, and she'd finally dismissed her with a "Very well then" and a wave of her hand.

Of course, it would probably only end up being a relaxing C-ranked mission and nothing more, but she supposed she'd be fine even if all she got out of it was the satisfaction of an assignment well-done and an afternoon looking at Sai's gorgeous face.

More than that, though, she hoped it would be a welcome departure for Sai from his normal assignments. Ino would never know the details of his Anbu work, but if she could be the reason he was able to spend a day in the sun without worrying about the deception or stealth typically a part of his missions, that was enough for her.

Now, their mission completed, they stood outside in the warm afternoon air and Sai unfurled his scroll to speak the jutsu that would create his giant bird. When he lifted his pen, the flattened image flew from the paper in a stream of ink and puffed into the shape of his giant white hawk, its papery wings beating against the updraft and lifting Ino's hair around her face.

In a single fluid motion, Sai then rolled the scroll back up with a snap and dropped it into the pouch at his hip as he jumped to the bird's back. In the next moment, with a hand held down to her, he smiled. "Ready for another flight?"

Yes, definitely better than Tenten.

Ino took his hand and hopped up beside him. She wasn't nervous about flying anymore, but that was no reason not to enjoy the reassuring pressure of his chest against her back as they straddled the bird's neck. And this time, when they leapt into the air, she kept her eyes open.

It was exhilarating. That morning, she'd marveled at the beauty of Konoha, its rooftops glistening in the sun like jewels. Now, laughing with heedless joy, her eyes drank in the world below her again. She wondered if flying had become mundane to Sai, since he did it all the time. For her part, she couldn't imagine ever getting used to it.

As the rust-colored rooftops of the tiny mining village dwindled, and the sun warmed her cheeks, she saw a haze of wet mist rising from the falls to the west. "Too bad the waterfall isn't on the way," Ino said. "It's probably breathtaking from up here."

"It's not too far. Do you want to see it?" The rushing wind forced Sai to lean in close to be heard, and his voice against her ear sent a tingle down her spine.

She glanced back. Was he kidding? Of course she did. She grinned and nodded as the wind snatched her voice away. With a smile, Sai turned the bird in a loop toward the western sky.

Within moments, they were soaring over the surrounding hills, the air rushing in a gale past her face as they left the village and its surrounding countryside behind.

The roar of tumbling water grew ever louder, and the bird gathered speed even as it descended. Soon they were flying so low to the ground that Ino could see the grass swaying in great waves below and the white-foamed crests of the rushing river as they raced it toward the sheer drop ahead.

Waves cascaded and thundered over the rim of the falls, approaching nearer and nearer until, in a flash, they were hurtling past the edge, the river roaring as if fell over the cliffs beneath them. The bird's great wings snapped taut and caught the updraft like twin sails catching the wind, and cold misty spray splashed her face.

Ino's stomach pitched and her heart beat wildly as the land dropped out below, even as she laughed and leaned into the wind. They were gliding over a world spread around them like a giant bowl. The sweeping canyon shone golden and orange in the sunlight and the river glinted silver-blue a mile below.

The world seemed to slow as the bird made a lazy banking turn and then the entire glory of the great waterfall was before her. It churned and tumbled, great clouds of spray billowing high in the crisp air. The earthy fresh scent filled her lungs, and she held her breath at the grandeur of it all.

A few moments later, they glided gently to an outcropping near the waterfall and Ino felt the thump of the bird's feet as they landed. Her heart still raced as she slipped down from its back and took in the view around her. They were on a wide ledge, its edges covered with a blanket of vivid yellow blooms that overlooked the sweeping sunlit canyon and tumbling falls beyond.

"Do you like it?" Sai asked from beside her.

She turned to him, eyes wide with wonder and delight. "I can't even put into words how beautiful this is," she said.

The smile he returned seemed to hold such genuine happiness that she couldn't help blushing. It was so different from the one she'd seen the morning the war ended—the morning they'd all been released from the ten-tails tree.

Sakura had once asked her if she could pinpoint the moment she had started to feel something more for Sai, and at the time, she hadn't known how to answer. She'd thought he was cute from the first time she met him years ago, and had always harbored a tiny crush on him, even before giving up on Sasuke. But it had never been anything more than an excuse to flirt.

At least, that was all it was before that October morning. They'd been freed from the tree's bindings, after being captive for hours that had felt like years. Disoriented and broken-hearted, she'd been doing her best to help the injured shinobi around her when she'd looked up and seen Sai doing the same. He was smiling, and although it didn't quite reach his eyes, it was there all the same as he put aside his own pain to help those around him.

Thinking back on it, that must have been the moment it started. He'd turned to her, and she'd smiled too, and they'd stayed by each other's sides the rest of that day.

Now, breathing in the sweet scent of the Nanohana blossoms, she grinned. "We don't have to be back right away. Do you want to stay for a little while? That is, as long as you don't mind energy bars and food pills for dinner."

"Of course not," he said as Ino pulled the unappetizing meal from her hip pouch and handed some over to him. She then sat down on a large rock near the edge and Sai settled against a nearby boulder, his sketchbook open on his lap. So much for the mission going quicker with him, she thought with a smile.

A breeze blew some of the mist spray across her face and she leaned back on her hands and let her head tip back in relaxation. What a perfect day.

But despite her wishing it wouldn't, the sun began to fall low in the sky, and they were forced to pack up. A few minutes later, they were once again in the air and headed home.

"So, how do you stand on this thing when you fly?" Ino called over her shoulder, against the wind.

"It's easy," he said, his breath warm against her neck.

She reacted with spontaneous, bubbling laughter. "I'm holding on with my hands and legs! I wouldn't exactly call it easy."

"It _is_ easy," he said and she could hear the smile on his lips. "It's only chakra and balance. It's just like walking on water or up a tree. All you have to do is channel your chakra to your feet and let your center of gravity stay balanced over your knees."

She gave a half-laugh as she glanced at him over her shoulder. "You do make it sound easy."

"I'll show you if you want to try it."

Did she? Oh my gods, absolutely. Sure, she had a healthy dose of terror running through her, but she had never been one to shrink from a challenge before, and she wasn't about to start now. With a grin, she nodded. "Can you?"

He smiled again. "Ok, I'll stand up and then I'll help you." He then scooted back and stood as easily as if he were on solid ground and not actually a mile in the air. A moment later, she felt his hands under her elbows. "Try letting go."

"Ok," she said hesitantly, and loosened her grip on the feathers at the bird's neck. But his hold was strong and sure, and when she released her fingers, he swiftly lifted her to her feet, but kept his hands around her arms to steady her.

Earlier, she had felt like she was finally getting used to flying. Now, her knees wobbled again and her heart pounded. Walking on water was one thing. Here, there was nothing but sky, and that sky was rushing past. At the same time, though, a thrill of exhilaration quivered through her, and she grinned.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I can't believe it, but ok, I think," she answered, loud enough to be heard over the wind, as she channeled her chakra to her feet and focused her eyes on the back of the bird's head. It really did feel a lot like balancing on a rolling lake.

"I'm going to let go then, but I'll be right behind you." He slowly released his hold, letting his fingers rest lightly on her arms for a moment to keep her steady, before pulling away.

Letting her knees absorb the swaying motion and holding her arms out for balance, she laughed. She was doing it! After a few minutes, she even felt comfortable enough to take a couple small steps forward and back.

But a gust of wind suddenly whipped crossways past them and caught her off guard. Her brain knew there were no railings up here but with a jolt of nerves, her hand jerked down instinctively to grab hold of something—and met the firm grip of Sai's hand as his fingers closed around hers. With a shaky breath, she squeezed back.

"Even if we did fall," he said over her shoulder, "the bird would catch us again. Remember, it's just an extension of my chakra."

"Have you ever fallen?" Ino asked. She once again felt secure on her feet, but neither of them moved to let go of the other's hand.

"Only for fun," he answered.

She grinned. That did sound like fun. With a happy sigh, she finally looked up from the point on the bird's head she'd been focusing on. The sky had become full of stars, a million lights in the dark, but even they weren't as beautiful as the gleam of Konoha's golden lanterns now visible on the horizon.

* * *

"You follow directions about as well as Naruto and Sai, I swear," Sakura said from the kitchen as Kakashi heard his fridge door close.

"I haven't had time to shop since last week," he replied as he finished wrapping his thigh and began strapping on his shuriken holster.

"Well, you need to eat something other than junk food. Don't you remember what you always used to tell us? 'Healthy food is the fuel your body needs to perform well in battle.'" Her face was stern as she emerged from the kitchen and walked toward him, but he could see she was struggling not to smile.

His lips curved beneath his mask as he remembered setting up for camp on some of those early genin missions only to find Naruto emptying a bag of cup ramen, Sakura making a dinner of some kind of fruit concoction drenched in syrup, and Sasuke eating nothing at all.

"I've been busy," he said simply and bent to start wrapping his ankles.

Sakura scoffed. "When you have to teach a bunch of delinquents at the academy all day, work at the hospital almost every night, and make sure the next Hokage is eating his vegetables, you can talk to me about busy."

Kakashi chuckled softly but said nothing. He was beginning to wonder if it had been the best idea after all to meet at his place for their weekend sparring sessions.

"Don't laugh." Her face was a scowl, but he didn't miss the amusement in her eyes as he pulled on his gloves.

In some strange way though, her scolding had always been a comfort. It was one of her ways of looking out for him and it felt . . . nice. Only one other person had ever taken on that role with him before. How exactly it had happened with Sakura, he wasn't sure, but maybe it was the natural result of having been teammates through so many life-and-death situations.

"Where'd you find that?" he asked as she strolled past him toward his book shelves and pulled an orange from her hip pouch.

She glanced briefly over her shoulder at him with a lifted eyebrow. "My kitchen."

"Ah." He tightened his gloves. "Don't suppose you have another?"

She rolled her eyes and tossed the orange to him. "Next week, I expect you to have your own." Then, turning back to the shelves, she began scanning the rows of books. "I didn't know you liked this type of stuff."

He peered up from peeling bits of skin off the outside of the orange and saw her flipping through a photography book. "I'm always reading. You know that."

Her lips quirked as she glanced at him. "Yeah, those Icha Icha novels. I never knew you read other things."

"Now don't start in on the Icha Icha series," he said as he pulled the orange in half and began breaking it into sections.

With a smile, she returned her attention to the book. "So are you actually into photography?"

"I've dabbled." He separated the last two sections of orange and held one out to her. "Here."

"Thanks," she mumbled as she popped it into her mouth and slid the book back to its place.

Moving along the titles, she suddenly stopped and an expression of surprise and excitement animated her features. "Ohhh, you have the History of Konoha," she said as she pulled a worn and frayed book from the shelf. "I didn't think any were left after Pein's attack."

"It was the only one of my books that made it," he said. It was old, published sometime during the rule of the Third Hokage. It was probably the first book he'd ever read, and it had inspired him as a child, back when all he'd wanted to do was be a ninja and follow in his dad's footsteps. Back before everything had changed.

"How did it survive?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi chewed on a section of orange and remembered choking on the dust of his destroyed village as he sifted through debris in a daze. The lone survivor of his few belongings had been the slightly charred history book that Sakura now held, which he'd found peeking out from beneath a pile of rocks and semi-burned paperbacks. Seeing it among the wreckage, so soon after the vision he'd had that day, had caused a wave of memory so powerful it had dropped him to his knees.

"It was saved by a pile of Icha Icha novels actually," Kakashi said. "I suppose after burning through those, the explosion had nothing left."

"Are you serious?" she asked, the beginnings of a skeptical smile forming on her face.

"I am. So remember that the next time you knock those novels." He handed her another slice of orange.

"Hmm, likely story," she said, still smiling, as she took the orange slice and turned back to the book. He watched her idly as she flipped through its pages. "You know, this is the book that first inspired me to become a shinobi," she said, almost nostalgically. "Did you read it as a kid too?"

At her words, something deeper than memory stirred, and only when she looked up again and met his eyes did it shake him into a response. "Didn't we all?"

"Maybe," she mused. "But I'm glad there's a copy left. If you don't mind, I'll borrow it one of these days for Naruto. I think he'd like it."

"Any time." Kakashi waved a hand at the entirety of his shelves. "You're free to read them whenever you like."

"Thanks." She took one last look at the book. "I remember I used to dream I'd be like the ninja on these pages and go around saving people all day long." Her voice held a note of laughter as she pushed the book back on the shelf.

"And so you are," Kakashi said.

She began to smile, before an expression of sudden realization crossed her face. She looked at him again, her smile slowly growing, until it turned into an amazed half-laugh. "You're right."

"I know." He smiled too, and stood up. "Now come on, time for training. Neither of us is retiring any time soon."

She reached up and tightened her headband. "I suppose it is a little early to live just to grow old, huh?"

Kakashi handed her the last section of orange. "It certainly is."

* * *

 **A/N**

Thanks so much for the reviews. And thanks to Jess, who recommended a great Morat song-I think it really fits Ino and Sai.

0o0

Let's see. . .

I think Sakura has finally made it through and reached the turning point in her grief. She's not really hurt so much anymore as she's angry at the effect everything had on her. I originally had the sparring scene with her and Kakashi in here, but it didn't really advance the story or their relationship, so I took it out.

Also, I couldn't resist giving Kakashi an orange to peel (those of you who are still watching Boruto will get it; for those of you who aren't, just google Kakashi peeling an orange).

And Sakura's last line in this chapter is a variation of a line in one of the HunterxHunter OSTs (I think it's the third ending; the entire song is pretty great if you want to check it out). But I thought it was the perfect line in so many ways for Sakura's friendship with Kakashi at this point.

For Kakashi and Sakura's song, it's 'Ooh La La' by The Well Pennies (moved it from the last chapter to this one).

0o0

Song for Sakura's story with Sasuke:

(Sasuke) I'll Be Good - Jaymes Young

(Sakura) Broken - Lauren Hoffman

And for my darlings Ino and Sai, here are some songs:

North Cape – The Piano Guys

Aprender a Quererte – Morat

The North Cape song is the one I hear playing when he's teaching Ino how to stand on the bird.

0o0


	9. Chapter 9 - Under the Starry Sky

soooo, in the last few months, I got a bit sidetracked. . .

But I'm finally back and I hope you're all still with me. The rest of this story has been outlined for a long time and I really can't wait to share it all with you. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments-they keep me going.

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 **Under the Starry Sky**

* * *

Even in the shade of her apartment's garden, Sakura's face glistened and her pink locks clung to the nape of her neck. Hands flat on Naruto's back, she pushed him into a deep stretch. "I have some good news for you," she said, her voice lilting upward on a smile.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto exhaled, wrapping his fingers around his left foot and dipping his forehead to his knee.

"Yeah." Sakura blew a few strands of hair out of her eyes and mentally counted to twenty before releasing the pressure from Naruto's back. She then stepped around to kneel in front of him as he lay back on the ground.

"So, what's the news?"

With a hand on the soles of each of his shoes, Sakura slowly pushed his knees to his chest. "Only that you'll have two arms sooner than you thought."

"It'll be ready early?" The excitement in Naruto's voice pulled Sakura's smile into a grin.

"We finished the cell harvesting this week, a lot faster than expected. Lady Tsunade will start on the actual construction of the arm right after we get back from the summit."

Naruto's smile unfurled and his eyes sparkled. "And you still think putting the First Hokage's cells in it will let it channel chakra?"

"It's not that exactly. It's the regenerative properties of the First Hokage's cells that are expected to make the tissues and pathways in the new arm fuse with the ones in your body. It's the fusion that will allow you to channel chakra through it." Sakura straightened one of Naruto's legs and shifted her weight over the other so that it remained flat on the ground.

"If it works, maybe when Sasuke comes back, you can change his mind about having one made for him too." But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Naruto's eyes darted to Sakura's, embarrassment and wariness spilling across his face. "Oh, I mean. . . I'm sorry Sakura, I didn't mean to bring him up. I wasn't . . ."

He trailed off and his eyes widened in what Sakura recognized as growing alarm. It must have been the expanding grin on her own face that did it. Or maybe it was the slow arch of her eyebrow at his panic. But all she said was, "exhale," as she resumed her press of his free leg toward his head.

"Sakura?"

Her grin hadn't faded so she supposed she shouldn't fault him for being nervous. After all, in her years of working and fighting alongside him, she'd definitely mastered the ways a simple curl of the lips could signal her irritation or disdain or outright malevolence.

But she couldn't help grinning. For the first time since the fight in Rain country, the mention of Sasuke's name hadn't sent her heart shaking. There'd been no sharp intake of breath, no feverish disorientation, no nervous flutter in her gut. Nothing. There'd been nothing at all.

And really, if Naruto couldn't tell by now the difference between a smile of menace and the one of giddy amazement she now wore, he deserved every minute of his terror.

"It's ok," she finally said with a laugh. "I'm over all that."

"You are? That's . . uh. . . great." Doubt made its way tentatively across his face, but something in the furrow of his brows had Sakura wondering if he still expected to be dealt some kind of grievous bodily injury.

"Anyway, it wouldn't be as easy for Sasuke as it will be for you. You know there's a much higher chance of cell rejection for an Uchiha."

"Really?" Naruto mumbled. "Huh." He eyed Sakura apprehensively. Then, with the excited expression of sudden recollection, he said, "Oh, hey, did you know that most of the sharingan jutsu names were taken from the names of the gods?"

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Um, yeah?"

"You did?" Naruto frowned. "I had no idea before Iruka-sensei told us this week."

"Naruto, we were in the same class in the academy. We all learned that years ago."

"Really? I would think I would have remembered _that_."

Sakura switched to stretching Naruto's other leg. "Better late than never, I guess. Maybe you'll actually remember everything the second time around."

Naruto huffed. "It's not like it matters. None of it has anything to do with being a Jōnin. I should have put up more of a fight when Kakashi-sensei came up with this stupid idea. He knows I should be going on missions instead and he's just doing this to get a good laugh."

"Don't be stupid. He's not doing it for that. And anyway, it's not like a Genin can be Hokage. You'll just have to suck it up. Now exhale."

Naruto breathed out. "Are you sure? I'm starting to think Kakashi-sensei made that up. I can't find anything in Konoha's rule books that says only a Jōnin can be Hokage."

She shifted her weight against his leg. "Does Iruka-sensei have you studying Konoha's laws in class too? That _is_ new."

"No, I had to go to the library to find them. But the rule isn't in them. I asked Shikamaru and he said if it's not there, it's probably in some archive somethings."

"The legislative archives?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"Yeah, those. And if I don't find it there, Kakashi-sensei can forget about all this school crap."

"Wait, so you've read all the Konoha law books already?" If Sakura remembered right, those books took up one entire wall of the library.

"Yeah. And believe it, there were a lot."

With an incredulous smile, Sakura said, "well, even if you don't find anything in the archives either, you still have to finish school. As the Hokage, you know Kakashi-sensei can simply make the rule himself."

Naruto's eyes glinted. "No he can't. Not by himself at least. Any new laws still have to be voted on by the council."

"Really?" Sakura hadn't known that.

Naruto broke into a self-assured grin. "So once I get those old geezers to agree that I should be going on missions instead of wasting my time in class, I'll never set foot in the academy again, believe it."

At that, Sakura grinned too and released Naruto's leg. "Well, good luck with that." It was only a good-natured tease though. It would be utter silliness to doubt even for a second that Naruto could turn the council to his way of thinking. The years had taught her that too.

Standing, she reached for his hand and pulled him to his feet. Following her to the foot of the apartment's back stairs, Naruto glanced at the stump of his arm. "So when do you think the surgery will be?"

"I hope by October. If there aren't any delays, it should be ready just in time for your birthday."

Excitement gleamed in his eyes before they then widened with some sort of sudden realization. "Oh, hey, _your_ birthday's coming up this month right? What do you want?" Before Sakura could answer, Naruto rushed on. "But nothing too expensive, you know. Kakashi-sensei has made me broke."

"Hmmm, well in that case, let me think." Sakura put her finger to her lips in mock consideration. "How about you do my dishes for a month? That won't cost you a ryo."

Naruto smirked and waggled the stump of his right arm. "Can't. Only one arm."

"Hey!" She went to smack him but he dodged her with a giggle. Of course, for all the times she'd given Naruto a reason to duck her attacks, she'd also become better at countering his evasions, and before he could straighten, her arm had snaked around his neck from behind and pulled him into a choke-hold.

With something between a whine and a laugh, he struggled and twisted. It did nothing to dislodge Sakura from his neck but it was enough to tumble them both to the grass. Her free hand found his ribs and dug in. "If you can do a one-handed rasengan, you can do my dishes."

Naruto squealed. "How about I just take you out to Ichiraku," he sputtered out, breathless from the tickling. "Then you won't have any dishes that need to be washed."

She was just about to demand to know how ramen would be a gift for _her_ , when a familiar voice cleared its throat behind them.

"I see some things never change."

Sakura and Naruto both glanced up from their heap on the ground. Hands in his pockets, Kakashi stared down at them. "What's this about Naruto washing dishes? He can do mine while he's at it."

Sakura relinquished her hold but gave Naruto a light punch in the arm as she stood. "Yeah, he wanted birthday gift suggestions. I was only trying to save him some money." She grinned and pulled Naruto to his feet for the second time that morning. "Got any ideas?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure I can think of something."

Naruto frowned. "We don't need your ideas, Kakashi-sensei. I'm on to you." But that bright lightbulb joy, which was always bubbling out at his edges, couldn't stay suppressed for long and when he glanced back at Sakura, his face split into a grin. "But I'm off. Thanks for the stretching!" Turning back to Kakashi a last time, he waved. "I'll see you both later." And in a cloud of dust, he was gone.

Kakashi chuckled. "He's on to me? What was that all about?"

The corner of Sakura's mouth tilted as she brushed herself off. "Apparently Naruto is digging up Konoha's archives in an attempt to get out of school."

"Hmm. Glad to hear it," he said with an amused gleam in his eyes.

Well. She had assumed Kakashi wasn't putting Naruto through school for the entertainment value, but apparently he was not above laughing at Naruto's expense. "You really are just as evil as Naruto said you were."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah, no idea, I'm sure." She rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile from her lips. "Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at your place?"

"I was in the area and thought I'd see if you were ready."

"Oh, yeah, I'm ready if you are." She pulled her hair free from the elastic-tie and swept it up to catch the stray locks that had straggled out before wrapping it back in a pony tail. "What are you up for today?"

"I think we should do the monument run again. No chakra restrictions."

"Again?" Sakura grinned. He must really like losing to her. "I mean, I'm fine with that—after all, I'm what? Three for three now? You still trying to beat me to the top?"

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Something like that."

"Well, if you insist." She tightened her gloves and her muscles tensed in anticipation. "Ready?"

"Always."

* * *

The little winds that swirled atop the Hokage monument ruffled Sakura's hair. "It really is a beautiful view," she murmured. Up here, the sky close enough to touch, her dreams felt almost reachable too.

Beside her, Kakashi breathed out the slightest hum. "It's the only place in the village where I don't have to stare at my own face." He spoke casually enough, almost jokingly, and it was probably only the years of hearing all the nuances of that voice that allowed Sakura to catch the twinge of melancholy in it. She wondered how often he escaped up here by himself.

In the hard-edged line his profile made against the soft blue of the afternoon sky, it was easy to see the man who had worked his body and mind to its limits, who had proven his love and loyalty to the village over and over again and had risen to the challenge of leadership on more than one occasion.

When she'd been younger, and terrified of missions, and focused on Sasuke, Kakashi had always seemed so fearless and unflappable. With a reassuring smile, or a cavalier lift of his brow, or a steely flash of his eyes, he'd always been able to quell her shaking hands when she could barely hold a kunai, or ease the worry in her heart, or transfer some of that unyielding resolve to her.

But since then, she'd somehow caught glimpses beneath the figurative mask, if not the literal one. Maybe it was the natural result of getting older and growing less naïve. Or maybe she'd somehow learned what to look for, without even realizing it. But since those early days, she'd seen moments of hesitation or fear and, thinking back to their New Year's eve by the campfire, even sadness. She wondered which of the emotions he so assiduously kept hidden were now making him so reluctant to become the next Hokage.

The expanse of slate rooftops below them glinted in the sun. "Well, I've worked with Lady Tsunade for three years now. And Naruto has apparently become an expert on the law, so there's that."

The words were met with silence, but his eyes cut to her face. "That is, if you want any help," she said. "The point is, you don't have to do it all alone."

For the slightest moment, he looked almost caught off guard by her words, but then his eyes crinkled with one of those easy, dismissive smiles. "Thank you Sakura, but I don't expect you take your focus off of everything else on your plate. I'm sure I'll manage."

"Ok, if you say so." She turned away, more than a little annoyed. A part of her really wanted to smack him out of whatever it was that made him insist on keeping himself so closed off. It wasn't like she couldn't help him _and_ do her own work. "But I bet your tune will change once you actually see how much paperwork you're going to have to do."

He chuckled. "You mean ignoring it until it's no longer relevant isn't a good strategy?"

She only rolled her eyes.

"How is the children's center coming along?" Kakashi asked after a few moments.

How was it coming? Thinking about it only reminded her of how far she still had to go. "Slow. I really thought I'd have more done by now. And I still have to write the permit requests." She heaved out a groan. "I know I'll have more time after the summit, but it sometimes feels like the winds are blowing against me on purpose."

"Hmm. What was it you told me? The same goes for you too."

With a raised eyebrow, she asked, "What's that?"

"That you don't have to do it all alone either."

Her skepticism softened and she bumped her shoulder against Kakashi's. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei." And with a smile, "but I'm sure I'll manage."

* * *

Two weeks later and spring in Konoha was little more than a distant memory. It might as well have been the beginning of July rather than the end of March, for how sweltering the days had become.

Ino draped flowers around the roof with a critical eye. It had to be perfect. Sakura's first view of it, transformed by late blooming ume, pink peonies, vibrant yellow daffodils, and of course her namesake cherry blossoms, had to be magical.

Weaving golden blooms between the gauzy weave of the curtains that hung from the trellis, she smiled. She had always loved daffodils. They were the flower of March birthdays, but they also meant rebirth and new beginnings, and to her they had always looked like little happy stars.

Finally stepping back, she surveyed her work with crossed arms. The roof had become a garden of bloom and once the sun set and the stars came out, it would be a fairyland. But still, something was missing. Ino frowned.

A sudden breeze stirred her hair and with it came the familiar sound of wings. Ino's frown softened into a smile, and she turned to see Sai's large white bird approaching with Sai himself standing atop it.

"Sai!" she said as soon as he had reached the roof and hopped down. "I thought you weren't going to be able to make it tonight."

"The mission finished early," he said as the bird dissolved into his scroll. He rolled it back up with a snap and pushed it into his hip pouch. "So I thought I'd come."

His hair was tousled and windswept and Ino fought the urge to reach up and straighten it. Instead, she leaned back against the rooftop railing and turned an excited gaze toward her project. "So what do you think?"

He took a sweeping glance around the roof. "This is for Sakura's party?"

"Yeah. Every party needs flowers, you know." She crossed her arms again. "But it feels like something's missing and I can't figure out what it is."

Sai seemed to contemplate the question seriously. "You did all this because you think she'll like it?"

Ino frowned, and not bothering to hide her pique, asked, "Do you think she _won't_?"

He looked quickly back to her. "No, I think she will. It's only . . . People doing things for their friends and throwing surprise parties isn't something I ever saw growing up." He looked around again. "But I like it."

Ino's temporary irritation evaporated. "You've never been to a birthday party?"

"I've never celebrated any birthday. Not even my own."

Ino turned to face him squarely, sure that surprise was plain on her face. "Never?"

"No. In the Root, we were encouraged to forget our identities." His voice was calm, emotionless, as if it were just a routine fact he had recited and not the worst thing that could have been done to him as a child.

"What about before you joined the Anbu?"

"I don't remember anything before. And I've never had any family, if that's what you mean. The Anbu are the closest I ever had."

"That's not true anymore," Ino said vehemently. Her heart felt hot with a swirl of anger and indignation at what he'd gone through, doubly so because he didn't even realize what he had missed. "You have us now. Naruto and Sakura and me."

He glanced at her, his eyes widening slightly. "I admit that . . . since meeting all of you, I have come to understand bonds more. But I didn't know those bonds could be considered family."

"They are," Ino said, gently insistent. "That's what family is."

"Oh." Sai's voice was tinged with quiet surprise. He looked away and back toward the flowers, before saying again, softer, "oh."

A minute passed, and Ino finally asked, "So when _is_ your birthday?"

He hesitated, seemed to think about it before he answered. "It was in November."

"Oh, we missed it!" Ino said, disappointed. "Well, this year, be ready. We'll throw you a celebration to make up for all the ones you've missed."

Sai's profile was shadowed in the low afternoon light but Ino saw the slightest smile curve the corner of his mouth. "Anyway," she went on, her own smile stealing into her voice again. "You never told me what you think about the decorations. You need to help me figure out what's missing."

Sai stared at the roof for a while in silence before stepping forward and pulling out his scroll. "What about this?" With a scrawl and a touch of his pen, a dozen tiny ink birds flew out and fluttered toward the flowers. A moment later, they had gathered up some of the flower garlands and flitted into the air so that the blooms hung and waved in the breeze, curtains of petals above their heads.

For once, Ino was struck speechless. "That's it," she murmured, momentarily transfixed, her faced upturned. "Beautiful." And in a spontaneous burst of happy excitement, she threw her arms around Sai's neck and squeezed him in a quick, tight hug.

"Thank you." She bounced away before he even had time to react, laughter bubbling from her lips as she looked up at the birds again. "It's perfect." And grinning at him, she asked, "Want to come downstairs? Sakura's supposed to be home in the next half hour."

"Alright," he answered.

She took a few springing steps toward the stairs, about to dash down them, when Sai's voice spoke softly behind her.

"Ino?"

She glanced over her shoulder, and stopped when she saw that he hadn't moved from where she'd hugged him. "Is everything ok?" she asked, turning fully around again to face him.

"Yes, everything is . . . good." And after another moment of hesitation, he seemed to gather some sort of resolve, walked slowly up to her, and pulled her into his arms.

Her eyes widened but her arms came around his waist and she hugged him back.

"Thank you," he said.

* * *

Sakura trudged up the steps to her apartment. Her night had become unexpectedly free and she had no idea what to do with it. On any other day, she might have enjoyed the rare time off, but it somehow seemed wrong to spend her eighteenth birthday evening alone.

Unfortunately, it was starting to look like that was her only option. When she'd swung by the Hokage Tower to walk home with Kakashi, he'd been shut in with Tsunade and she hadn't even been able to see him. Ino wouldn't be back till late, and neither Naruto nor Sai had been home when she'd stopped by their apartments. Well, maybe after a bubble bath, she could hunt down Rock Lee and a few of the others for dinner at Yakiniku or something.

With a groan, Sakura stumbled over the last stair and almost dropped the inexcusably large, awkwardly-wrapped gift Shizune had dropped off for her earlier. At her doorway, she then fumbled one-handedly for her keys, and as she hefted the gift to her hip for a better grip, her keys slipped through her fingers and clanged to her feet. Grumbling, she somehow managed to bend down and pick them up without dropping the monstrosity she was holding, and after unlocking the door, she kicked it open with her foot.

After the bright sunshine, she squinted to adjust to the dim interior of the apartment, and was hit with an immediate sense that she was not alone. Setting the gift down against the wall, she slid her shoes off and dropped her keys onto the table by the door. "Ino? Are you home?"

When no answer came back, she frowned. Her eyes had almost adapted to the darkness and the apartment looked empty enough. Was she imagining things? She'd never really had Ino's ability to sense chakra presences. Feeling foolish, but slipping a kunai into her hand just to be safe, she took a step toward the living room.

Before she could take another, an eruption of noise and voices smashed through the silence as at least thirty people jumped up, all with completely out-of-sync shouts of "Happy Birthday!"

Caution turned immediately to surprise as Ino separated from the crowd of friends now converging, and jumped on her with a hug that almost sent them both to the floor. "Wha—How?" Sakura grinned and laughed as she hugged back and looked at everyone over Ino's shoulder. "How did you know I didn't have work tonight?"

Ino flashed a smug grin. "Are you serious? Who do you think coordinated with Lady Tsunade to get you the night off?" She reached for Sakura's kunai and tossed it on the kitchen counter. "I didn't think you'd try to kill us though!"

"You didn't?" Sakura grinned, just as Naruto nearly bowled her over and hugged her so tight she squeaked.

Swinging her around in his one-armed embrace, all giggles, he said, "You should have seen the look on your face!"

"You surprised me!" she protested as Naruto set her back on her feet. She tried for serious, but that was a hopeless effort. "I really can't believe you guys did this—it's so. . . thank you."

She would have never guessed so many people even knew her, much less liked her enough to show up to a birthday party for her. Her throat felt suddenly tight and she didn't even fight the compulsion to hug everyone in turn, even all the random hospital co-workers Ino had invited.

But as she searched the room in vain for a glimpse of unruly silver hair, she felt a twinge of disappointment. It seemed Kakashi actually had been shut in with Lady Tsunade rather than waiting behind her couch to surprise her.

"I have everything on the roof," Ino said with a tug at her elbow. "Wait till you see what we've done to it!" With a grin, she shouted, "Party upstairs, everyone!"

Sakura let herself be led out the door and up the steps, and was struck with how their little rooftop had been transformed. Dozens of ink birds hovered above, some with glittery 'happy birthday' scrolls suspended between them, others with multi-colored streamers or flowers trailing from their tiny beaks. Panels of sheer fabric drifted in gauzy folds from the trellis and caught gently in the breeze. And flowers were everywhere—strewn along the edges of the roof, tangled into garlands, and draped over the railings, their scarlet and pink and yellow petals fluttering in the breeze.

"Wow, this is beautiful." Sakura stared around her in awe.

"Sai helped," Ino said. She then looked around the roof and caught his eye, and the look she gave him left little doubt in Sakura's mind how she felt.

"Yeah?" Sakura asked, a teasing lilt to her voice. She never would have thought before to pair Sai and Ino together but maybe it wasn't so crazy after all. Maybe Sai was just the calming presence Ino's wild energy needed, and maybe Ino's gregarious enthusiasm could actually thaw Sai's way too logical outlook.

"I'll tell you all about it later," Ino said with a grin, before dashing off to start the music.

* * *

After the muggy evening air and noise on the roof, the cool, lamp-lit silence of the apartment felt almost other-worldly. Setting down the drinks and chips she'd come for, Sakura walked over to the pile of birthday gifts in the living room corner.

Someone had set Shizune's monstrosity there, and among the boxes beside it was one wrapped in bright orange paper. No need to look for Naruto's messy scrawl to know who that was from, Sakura thought. Grinning, she was about to turn away when she glimpsed the scribble of Kakashi's handwriting on one of the packages.

Surprised, she reached for it. When had Kakashi left her a gift? Wrapped in blue paper, it was thin, and relatively flat. A book? Maybe it was that medical book she had mentioned to him a few days ago.

Forgetting her snack-run, she stole into her room and folded herself onto the bed with her present. The distant merriment of the party drifted through her window and for a long while, she simply stared at her name in Kakashi's curved lettering and absently traced patterns over the paper with her fingertips.

Finally though, her curiosity too much to bear, she gently tore the wrapping off. It was quickly apparent that it _was_ a book, but as the paper fell away to reveal the title, Sakura's breath caught.

 _The History of Konoha._

Trailing her fingers gently along the book's frayed edges and slightly singed corners, her heart thudded. This wasn't a new copy Kakashi had managed to dig up somewhere. It was the same one she'd looked at in his apartment. The only book of his that had survived Pein's attack on the village. The one he'd dreamed over as a kid.

Slowly opening it, she saw an inscription written in the front cover, and emotion swelled in her throat. ' _Happy Birthday Sakura. If there's anyone who can bend the winds to her will, it's you. –Kakashi_ '

The party on the roof forgotten, Sakura turned each page, eyes drinking in the familiar pictures and passages. At the end, and just about to close the book with a happy sigh, she glimpsed another inscription, this one faded, scribbled in the back cover.

It wasn't Kakashi's handwriting, and when she read it, her eyes widened. ' _K—May you find the will of fire on every one of these pages, just as I have. –Dad'_

Stunned into complete stillness for a minute, she finally snapped the cover closed and jumped off the bed. Heart stuttering, she clutched the book to her chest and hurried out of her room and up to the roof, the snacks she'd originally gone downstairs for still abandoned on the kitchen counter.

"Hey, where have you been?" Ino asked when Sakura found her. "I was just about to come looking for you."

"Do you mind if I run out for a little while? I won't be gone long."

Concern flashed across Ino's face. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, nothing's wrong. I just . . . I'll be back before anyone misses me."

"Ok," Ino said slowly, eyebrows raised. "But I expect the full story when you get back."

A minute later, Sakura had jogged down the stairs, and was sprinting to Kakashi's apartment. On the way there, her muscles quivered with nervous energy, every second a mini eternity.

At his front door, she knocked and began bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet while she waited. No answer. She knocked again and bounced some more, but there was still no response. He wasn't home.

Sakura frowned. He couldn't still be at the Hokage Tower. Absent an emergency, he would surely have found some excuse to escape from there by now. But there was also no way he was already in bed. Besides, she reasoned, her knocking would surely have wakened him if that had been the case. She looked out on the deserted street.

No, there was probably only one place he could be at this time of the evening.

The sun was just dipping behind the horizon when she climbed the last step to the Hokage Monument, and twilight had darkened the sky to a swath of inky blues and purples. At the summit, she turned toward the sprawling sweep of the village, just beginning to glitter with the light of lanterns far below, and saw him. He stood at the edge of the overlook, in that relaxed slouch of his, hands in his pockets, and Sakura smiled.

"Kakashi-sensei," she said, already walking toward him.

His head turned at the sound of her voice, and she glimpsed the curve of a welcoming smile beneath his mask as she approached. "I didn't expect to see you this evening—skipping out on your birthday celebration?"

She reached his side and met his eyes with her own smile. "I guess I am, but only because I had to yell at you for not being there."

"I would have been there," he said. "But I didn't want to keep everyone from being themselves at your party."

Sakura's smile faded. It was easy to forget that to everyone else, he was the incoming Hokage. In her eyes, he was still just Kakashi—Hokage or not, she couldn't imagine seeing him as anything other than the silly, ridiculous, generous, kind, strong mentor he'd always been. "Well, I'm glad I get to see you on my birthday after all."

She stared over the rooftops, the village spread out in a great curve of golden light before them, its lanterns glittering like starlight. With a deep breath, she gathered her courage and faced him again. "And . . . I want to thank you for your gift."

His eyes moved to the book she held before her and back up to her face. "You're welcome. I hope you like it."

"Like it? I love it," she said.

With something like a breathy chuckle, Kakashi said, "But something's bothering you."

Heat rose to her cheeks and Sakura hoped he couldn't see it in the dim evening light. "I saw the inscription from your father and I realized how important it must be to you—" Her words trailed off for a few moments before she rushed on again. "And it's the only thing you have left of his. I know it's rude to not accept a gift, but I would feel terrible if I took it from you."

Kakashi's eyes held that reassuring look she'd seen so many times over the years. "Don't worry about that," he said. "It's not the only thing I have left of his."

"It's not?" Sakura asked.

His gaze strayed to the village rooftops. "I suppose I never told you. He's the person who first taught me the importance of friends over everything else. I resisted the lesson for entirely too long, but I'm sure he's happy I came around."

It was the first lesson Kakashi had ever taught them as Genin. The memory of that day, of Naruto tied to the stump while she and Sasuke took turns feeding him, brought a wistful smile to her face. Now, watching Kakashi as his eyes traced the outlines of their village, she realized how little she knew about the details of his life. The natural consequence of his being someone so private, she supposed.

"I always assumed I'd die a Jonin on some battlefield somewhere. Being Hokage . . . it's easy to forget why I agreed to do it. But this place, this view, is a good reminder." His eyes met hers again. "I think you should have something to help you remember how you got where you are too."

She glanced down at the book. Its corners burnt and worn, its covers warped from years of Konoha summers, its images and words a forever reminder of her childhood dream that she'd leave the world a better place than she had found it. "Thank you," she finally said, raising her eyes, throat tight with emotion again. "It means the world to me." The words didn't feel close to enough, but Kakashi smiled and it seemed like maybe he knew anyway. She held the book closer to her chest and smiled too.

"Besides," he said after a few moments as they looked out on the village, "I needed to make room for my new Icha Icha collection, anyway."

With a groan, she shoved his arm. "Whatever. Ugh, you're lucky I like you."

He chuckled. A small smile slipped across her own face, and they fell into a comfortable silence as the last vestiges of twilight darkened into night.

But Sakura's thoughts soon wandered; to the hospital and the children's clinic and the upcoming summit, and she sighed. "It's hard to believe we'll be in Iron in a week. I hope we're ready."

"We're ready," Kakashi said in his usual calm. "At least for the negotiations. For my part, I never feel ready for the rest of it, but that shouldn't worry you."

"What do you mean, the rest of it?" she asked, confused.

He glanced at her. "The meet-and-greets and dinners and parties. The bane of international summits in my opinion."

He must have thought she knew about all of it, but his response did nothing to clear up her confusion. Turning full to face him, she frowned. "What dinners and parties? What are you talking about?"

She saw the slow curve of his lips beneath his mask as realization came to him. "Lady Tsunade didn't fill you in on the social obligations?"

She crossed her arms around the book. "Noooo." The word dragged with barely contained displeasure. And his enjoyment of it was certainly not appreciated. "Why don't you fill me in now?"

His eyes gleamed; he was evidently enjoying her dismay. "There'll be at least two formal dinners. One with the delegations on the first evening, and one with the village leaders after they arrive. And there's the ball on the last day."

Her eyes widened. "A ball? Like fancy gowns and dancing and stuff? Oh my gods, there won't be."

"I'm afraid there very much will," he said, and the amusement in his voice was unmistakable.

Her eyes fell to her crossed arms as her mind hurried through what would be expected of her and all the ways she could foresee a catastrophically embarrassing international dancing incident. "I can't believe Lady Tsunade didn't tell me." She groaned. "I won't really have to dance, will I?"

"If I could get us both out of it, I would," he assured her, but his smile absolutely belied his words.

"I don't know what you find so funny about it!" she snapped.

"I find it funny that you're unfazed by the idea of shouting down a room full of Kage to get your medical opinions across, but are somehow sidelined with nerves at the idea of dancing."

"I can't dance, you know that." She scowled. "I'm going to look like an idiot. I'll embarrass Lady Tsunade and all of Konoha." Her nerves now thrumming beneath her skin, she walked from the ledge toward the little park behind them.

She'd have to find something to wear too. But what? Sakura groaned at the thought and sunk down on one of the benches inside the gazebo, her mind a jumble.

Well, she had a week to figure something out. And to somehow learn to dance. Maybe she could get Naruto to practice with her. Sure, the one time he'd tried waltzing with her at a camp site, she'd tread on his toes every other step but she hadn't really taken it seriously then. It couldn't be _that_ hard if she put her mind to it, could it?

She looked up as Kakashi approached and sat down beside her. At least he'd had the courtesy to stop grinning, but his eyes still twinkled.

"It's not funny," she mumbled again.

"I'm not laughing at you. But it does amaze me that anything still has the power to scare you."

"Why would that amaze you?" She scoffed, and then said more quietly, "everything scares me lately."

"Not as much as you think." He relaxed back against the bench and looked out at the expanse of night beyond the gazebo. The distant chirping of crickets filled the space around them and a warm breeze stirred her hair. Sakura sighed.

Up here, above the haze of Konoha's street lamps, the sky was a swath of starlight. "It's really too bad the lights aren't hooked up," she said, peering up at the unlit bulbs strung between the wooden slats above their heads.

He followed her glance up. "They are, but there's no electricity running." A few moments later, he stood and walked around to the outside of the gazebo.

"Where are you going?" she asked after him.

"Just trying something," he called back. With a crackling sound, a flash of blue light suddenly illuminated the darkness. Sakura saw a jumble of cords in the corner, and Kakashi's hand surrounded with the chirping electricity of his lightning jutsu, as he stood near the generator at one of the gazebo's corners.

Realizing his intent, and seeing visions of the gazebo going up in flames, Sakura was about to squeal in protest when a cascade of light rushed outward along the cords. All words were silenced on her lips. With unfeigned awe, she watched hundreds of tiny lights wink on one after the other, in a wave of spreading luminescence until the ceiling of the gazebo and all the surrounding trees sparkled with fairylight.

"Ohhhh," Sakura murmured, enchanted, face upturned to the shimmering strands.

In the next moment, Kakashi had returned and stood before her.

"It's magical," she breathed, and looked up at him in wonder.

Their eyes met, and without a word, he held a hand out to her.

She glanced at it and then up to his face in confusion. "What?"

"Dance with me."

She hesitated, raised an eyebrow. "Really?" A surprised smile curved her lips.

"I'm sure you're a better dancer than you think."

Her cheeks burned but she couldn't quite keep her smile from widening. "Don't be so sure about that."

"I'll take my chances," he assured, quietly, his hand still outstretched.

So she set her book down and tentatively reached her fingers towards his. The moment they touched, he closed his hand around hers and gently pulled her up.

"I apologize in advance," she said, as Kakashi's other hand came to rest lightly at the small of her back. "I'm probably going to step on your feet a hundred times."

"I've suffered worse," he said, his eyes teasing. "I've been on the receiving end of your punches, remember?"

She grinned and ducked her head to look at her feet.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded but didn't look up.

"Just follow my lead," he went on. "When I step this way, you step back." With the slightest guiding pressure against her hand and waist, he turned them in a languorously slow waltz, his voice soft as he told her with each step where to put her feet.

After the first few turns, his voice a calming cadence, she thought she might actually be getting it. And Kakashi was surprisingly good.

Really, though, she shouldn't have been surprised. Had she ever seen him try anything he hadn't been good at?

A giggle bubbled up through her lips. "Maybe this isn't as hard as I thought it would be." Just as the words were out, though, she stumbled against him and stepped on his foot. "Ok, maybe not! I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry about it—you're doing fine," Kakashi said. "Try not to look at your feet. Look at me."

"Yeah, ok." It didn't seem like bad advice until she lifted her eyes to his and let out a quavering breath.

They had stood closer than this in the past. Shared countless hugs over the years. Carried each other to safety more than once. Hovered inches apart as he'd clutched her sleeve and she healed him on a battlefield. But his closeness now, as they swayed together beneath the lights above Konoha, somehow felt more intimate than anything that had come before.

But if he felt it, or noticed the hitch in her breathing, he didn't let on. He only looked steadily back at her, the corners of his eyes crinkled with a smile, his hand warm and reassuring at her back. With another exhale, she willed herself to hold his gaze, to smile back unafraid.

"Don't worry too much about the ball either," he said, guiding her into a turn. "You should see how Gaara stumbles over his own feet. And Ōnoki will avoid the floor altogether to float around you. As for Chōjūrō, you'll probably have to hold _him_ up because he'll be so nervous." Sakura's breathing slowly relaxed and she couldn't help a tiny laugh at Kakashi's words as he turned her effortlessly around the gazebo.

"So where'd _you_ learn to dance, if it's such a rare shinobi talent?" she asked, trying to focus on the mechanical pacing of her steps and not the cool grasp of her hand in his, or the way his fingers lightly grazed along her back and waist as they turned.

Kakashi's steps were slow and sure as he bent his head to speak low in her ear. "Classified, remember?" But before she could smile, or roll her eyes, or shiver at the feel of his breath against her cheek, he had pulled back and lifted her hand above her head to spin her in a slow pirouette. And in the next moment, all she could do was let out a sound between a gasp and a laugh as he brought her body flush against his and leaned her back into a long low dip.

"Kakashi!" She clung to him, laughing and stiffening at the same time.

"Relax," he said softly, eyes sparkling, his hand firm against her back. "I've got you." And then he was lifting her back up and she was still laughing and breathless as she leaned her forehead against his shoulder.

"I think that's the first time you haven't called me sensei," he said against her hair, once again leading her in a slow waltz to silent music beneath strands of twinkling lights, his hand at her back holding her close.

She tilted her head back, her eyes meeting his. "Oh! I'm sorry!"

He smiled and said quietly, "Don't be, it's about time."

Her surprised expression softened. "Yeah, I guess so."

They continued to turn lazy steps around the gazebo, until the lights above them began to wink out. "It seems the magic is running its course," Kakashi said.

They stilled, inches apart, and for a moment, Sakura held on to him tighter. "You'll save at least one dance for me at the ball, won't you?"

He didn't let go. "I'll save the first one."

* * *

 **To be continued . . .**

Thank you thank you thank you for reading!

I hope you liked this chapter-if you have time, I'd love to know what you thought.

Also, I know there's no music in that scene with Kakashi and Sakura but in my mind, I hear the Kenzie Smith version of 'A Tender Feeling' from Sword Art Online as they dance.


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